
fl 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 




fair, tir^ged dt tinr!e5 v/itl^ nosea+e l^lie^ arr] 1." 



* * * * COSMOS 

AND OTHER POEMS * * 
ANNA HUBBARD ^ERCUR 




Speak from your latest conviction and it speaks the universal sense, 
for the inmost becomes in due time the outmost, — Emei^sON. 



PETER PAUL AND BROTHER 

BUFFALO NY.. MDCCCIXIII 



Cover design and frontispiece 
By Cora Marie Gaskill. 



PRELUDE. 

T—fO W many sharps and flats ai-e set 

Within this instrutiient of life .' 
The heart-strings reach above, below. 
Combining hartnony with strife. 

Its cadences in every note 

Are found, frofn base to treble key ; 
With major, minor choi'ds are linked 
Eor simple song or sy?nphony. 

*The soul must be aflame to sound 

Them well ! There is fio theme too small , 
No thought too great, from tiny flower 

To avalanche or torretif s fall. 

It is the poef s sacred trust 

To tune this complex lute aright ; 

Who gains completest mastery 
Must be encircled by Gods light / 



CONTENTS. 



NATURE — Part i, Flowers. 



The Pedigree of Cosmos, 
Legend of the Laurel, 
The WooD-Vioi.Kt, 
The Rose-Raspberry, 
Forget-Me-Not, . 
My Madeira Vine, . 
To The Dandelion, 
The Hollyhock, 
Inflorescence, 
The Rose, 
Morning Glories, 
The Moon Flower, 
The White Clover, 
The Adder's Tongue, 
The M.av-Flower, 



3 
5 
7 
8 

9 

ID 
12 

14 
15 
I? 
i8 

19 

21 

22 
24 



NATURE— Part ii, Changes. 



Nature's Teachings, 
The Death of the Leaves, 
My Porch Hangings, 
Our Tree, ... 
A Frost Picture, 
Arabesque Architecture, 
The Primal Age, 
Enchantment, 
Patrician Sitnners, 



29 
31 

33 
35 
37 
39 
40 

41 
42 



CONTENTS. 



March, 

Whither, 

The Harvest Moon, . . ... 

A Forest Squirriloquy, 

Emulation, 

The Festival of Autumn, .... 
A Pen Picture Drawn from My Study Window, 



MOODS. 



Philosophy in Song, 
Some Day, 

A Celestial Colloquy, . 
Prediction, . 

Silence 

The Phosphoric Light, 

A Strife, .... 

Discretion, •. 

My Silent Friend, . 

The Ocean of Life, 

My Birdlings, . 

♦' Thou Shalt Not Kill," 

Advice, .... 

Want, .... 

Smoke Sublimated, . 



LOVE. 



Divine Love, 
The Difference, 
Love Cannot Die, 
If, . 
Memories, 
" Drifted Apart," 
Sea and Shore, . 
Ah, Me ! . 



44 

46 

47 
49 
51 

52 
54 



59 
62 

63 
64 

65 
67 
69 
70 

72 
73 
74 
76 

78 

79 
80 



83 
84 
85 
87 
89 
90 

91 
92 



CONTENTS. 



Mnemosyne, . . . . 

NiMMERMEHR, .... 

Sic Semper, .... 

Awakened, 

mortorio, .... 

<' If We Had Never Met," 

St. Valentine's Advice, 

To Mimosa, 

Reply to 

"Why? 

Expostulation, 

The Lost Key, .... 

OCCASIONS. 

To the Hon. William E. Gladstone, 
To His Majesty 1893, All Hail ! . 
Our American Sculptor, 
Wherefore? . . 

Omah, 

Preface to " The Sonnet," 

A Sonnet on a Sonnet, 

Word Picture of L. A. S., 

To a Young Friend, 

An Elkland Recollection, 

■" Mortgaged," 

A Golden-Rod Greeting, 

Heritage of Birth, 

October Nineteenth, 

Annie W. Rosenmuller, 

Dorothea, 

Unread, .... 

Prosit Neu Jahr, 

Anniversary Wish, 

Thirteen, .... 



93 
94 
95 
96 

97 

98 

100 

lOI 

102 

103 
104 

105 



109 

I ID 
III 

"3 

114 
116 
117 

1x8 
119 
120 
122 
123 
124 
126 
127 
129 
130 
131 
132 



CONTENTS. 



His Day, 

To Ulysses Mercur, 

A MiNNEQUA Ideal, 

St. Patrick's Perplexity, 

Pearl, 

Malgre Nous, 

One Hundred Years, . 

DEVOTIONAL. 

When Cometh the Dawn ? 

Greatly Beloved, 

Trust, . . . • 

Omnipresence, 

Refuge, ... 

Triune Power, 

Morning Orison, 

Desire, 

Eleasa — Eli dad. 

Adoration, . 

A Child's Petition, 

Christmas, . 

Easter, 

Aspiration, . 

Question and Answer, 

Hidden Treasures, 

" Ora Pro Nobis," 

threnetic songs. . 

Abraham Lincoln, ..... 
Garfield, ...... 

Calamity. 

Grant's Last Battle, .... 
Closing Lines of Dr. Holland's Threnody, 
Keats, 



134 
135 
136 
139 
141 
142 
144 



151 

152 

153 
155 
156 

157 
158 
160 
161 
162 

163 
164 
166 
169 
170 
171 
172 



177 
178 
179 
182 

183 
184 



CONTENTS. XI 

The Hero of Khartoum, 185 

The Long Farewell, 187 

The Messenger, 189 

Tribute TO E. O. Goodrich, 191 

" The Child IS Not ! " 192 

Peace, I93 

" At Eventide It Shall Be Light," . . -194 

Asleep, 19S 

Charities, 196 

Knowledge, i97 

"Another Day," 198 

The Journey Home, 199 

An Only Son, 200 

The Heavenly Calling, 201 

Just Begun 202 

Sorrow, . . . 203 

Law Fulfilled 204 

An Exchange 205 

Gain 206 

My Talisman, 207 

A Lost Jonathan, 208 

For Thy Sake, 209 

Illumined 210 

Bishop Brooks, 211 

" Uncle Sam," 212 

Crusaders of '61, 213 



NATURE 



Part I— Flowers 



THE PEDIGREE OF COSMOS. 



THE PEDIGREE OF COSMOS. 

' I "HE world's fair flower am I, Cosmos by name ; 

From Paradise, man's primal home, I came, 
Where, in perennial bloom, the blossoms rare. 
Rejoiced in our first mother's guardian care. 
But I the favorite supreme would be ; 
So lofty, none would dare compete with me. 
If I could rise to height of yonder trees, 
Attracting first the sunshine and the breeze, 
My aspirations I might satisfy, 
And proudly all the other flowers defy. 
Close by the Tree of Knowledge stood ; ere long 
My branches and leaf-filaments grew strong. 
Till (type of day, displacing shadowy night) 
I had attained the tree's gigantic height. 
T' would seem my dazzling blossoms, from afar, 
Sought to eclipse the lustrous morning star. 
Elate, I bade the rose. Love's radiant flower. 
Her blush transfer, and claimed it as my dower. 
Yet oft, for very shame, it fades away, 
And leaves me white and cold as moonlight's ray. 



4 COSMOS. 

But, ever on my own advancement bent, 

I wooed the mignonette, with base intent 

To draw her balmy breath, and vanish, when 

My devastating work was done. No pen 

My deep chagrin or penitence can tell ; 

Humility enwove such potent spell 

About her lowly path, t'were worse than vain 

Her only gift, her fragrance, to obtain. 

Fair, tinged at times with roseate hue, am I, 

But odorless condemned to live and die. 

When closed were Eden's gates, and I, through Shur 

Had passed, a sad and weary wanderer. 

My scattered seed, from north to south, from east 

To west, has budded, blossomed, and increased. 

Hence am I here, a world-wide, roving flower, 

(Albeit deprived of perfume's subtle power) 

To greet from every land, from every clime 

Th' Adamic race. What spectacle sublime. 

When old world, with the new, rebound in chain 

Of universal love, shall once again 

Edenic bliss restore; when man and beast. 

Bird, insect, tree and flower, the greatest, least. 

Shall, as in olden time, hold high discourse 

With Him who, of all life, is essence, source ! 



LEGEND OF THE LAUREL. 



LEGEND OF THE LAUREL. 

T"^APHNE, daughter of the sun, 
Fairest ofifspruTg of the light, 
Bright Apollo sought to win 
With imperious manly might. 

Had he less impetuous wooed, 
Drawn her by his beauty's dower, 

We had never known, mayhap, 
Of the laurel's mystic power. 

Trusting solely to his strength, 
Turned the maid, in cold disdain, 

Sounding Love's immortal lyre. 

Daphne's heart he might have gained. 

Practiced huntress of the chase. 

Swift as antelope she sped ; 
" Save me, gracious Mother Earth ! " 

Faint with terror, Daphne plead. 



COSMOS. 

Earth, her sheltering bosom opes, 

Shields from sight the trembling maid. 

While the god, in bafified rage. 

Finds his steps presumptuous stayed. 

Daphne's tears, warmed by the sun. 
Gave the shining laurel birth ; 

Victory's symbol, poet's crown. 
Type oi mind' s transcendent worth. 



THE WOOD-VIOLET. 



THE WOOD-VIOLET. 

" There's pansies, that's for thought." 

T7OR what 2x1 thou, wee violet, 

In depth of sheltering forest set? 
Or peeping forth from shady nook. 
To melody of running brook ? 
And condescending sometimes, too. 
To dot the fields with dainty blue. 
While velvet lawn and garden plot 
Oft tempt thee to some favored spot. 
Thou art bewitching, as petite. 
And when sweet-scented, so complete. 
And so proverbially true, 
The pansy fades from out my view. 



COSMOS. 



THE ROSE-RASPBERRY. 

T T OW partial Nature is to thee, 
Untrammeled forest child ; 
Luxuriant anomaly, 

Persistent, wayward, wild ! 

Spring's dewy blossoms 'neath thy gaze, 

Bud, blossom, and decay. 
While thine, with heightened hue gleam forth 

Through lengthened summer's day. 

Bright, thimble-shapen fruit ere long. 

Thy honied bushes bear ; 
Yet clustering near them may be seen 

Thy crimson flowrets fair. 

Calmly thou lookest on, and now 

The summer flowers are dead ; 
Thy ripened fruit and opening buds 

Still dauntless lift their head. 

But with November's chilling rains, 

Flowers, fruit, and foliage fade ; 
Winter has come ; thou hast at last 

Thy debt to Nature paid. 



FOR GE T-ME-NO T. 



FORGET-ME-NOT. 

A 17' HO, seeing thee, could q'qx forget? 
* I loved thee when at first we met. 

Frail, thou dost linger scarce a day ; 
" Forget me not," thou well may'st say. 



COSMOS. 



MY MADEIRA VINE. 

T KNOW not whence its tropic name ; 
'Tis not inscribed on scroll of fame. 
Endued with life from depths below, 
In solitude it learned to grow ; 
Shyly it showed its waxen leaves, 
As one that for seclusion grieves, 
But later, finds intense delight 
In all the charms of sense and sight. 
Fed by the sunshine and the shower, 
It grew in beauty every hour ; 
No sailor at the mast could run 
With more abandon toward the sun 
Than did my brave Madeira vine. 
The triple porches to entwine, 
Forming a green, entrellised shade, 
That seemed as by enchantment made. 
In clustering masses, closely strung 
Like seed-pearls, 'mid the leaves are hung 
The tiny opening buds, fit for 
The coronet of queen, or 
Fitter still, to grace the head 
Of maiden to the altar led. 



MY MADEIRA VINE. II 

Anon, the pent-up blossoms will 
Unfold, and with their sweetness fill 
The air. Oh ! fated dower of wealth, 
That wooes the frost-king on by stealth, 
To smite the heart-shaped leaves, and bear 
Away the precious pearls so fair. 
But think not, hoary, thieving frost, 
My fairy bower is wholly lost ; 
For, pictured to my inner sight, 
It stands in jeweled beauty bright. 
Memory will guard my peerless vine 
Forever in its sacred shrine. 



COSMOS. 



TO THE DANDELION. 

[Leoniodon Taraxactwi.) 

TT OW complex in simplicity 

Thou art, oh, wondrous flower ! 
Compounded out of Nature's gold. 
And moulding April shower. 

Expanding quickly 'neath the sun's 

Revivifying rays, 
Coy, yet coquettish, and withal 

Most clannish in thy ways. 

For thou the lesson hast not learned 

From lofty solitude, 
To be alone, yet not alone, 

By unseen kinship wooed. 

And 'tis as well, bright star-rayed flower, 

Thou art not made to soar ; 
Thy glowing constellations gleam 

With pure botanic lore. 



TO THE DANDELION. 13 

A very child of earth thou art, 

Indigenous as clay \ 
Soft, sensuous, symmetrical, 

With germs of swift decay. 

Anon, thy pale-faced progeny, 

(Like mourners for thy bier) 
A feathered, fleecy, airy flock. 

Shorn of thy gold, appear. 

Received by Earth's maternal breast. 

They, also, must await 
The resurrecting power of spring, 

Thv likeness to create. 



Thanks, sunny flower, for thou hast warmed 

To life this listless heart, 
And, severed from my kind, through thee 

I dwell no more apart. 



14 COSMOS. 



THE HOLLYHOCK. 

{Althea Rosea.) 

FROM distant China came the hollyhock, 
Or Althea Rosea, Linnaeus would say. 
Altho, in Greek, means cure ; and thus we learn 
That use, combined with beauty, is God's way. 

In studying nature more, what scholars might 
We be ! To understand its mysteries, 

We must resort where whispering winds can tell 
Us what they know of flowering plants and trees. 



INFL ORESCENCE. 



15 



INFLORESCENCE. 

TOUT yesterday the sunflowers stood, 

Tall, proud, erect ! 
Unbending as some people are. 

Or solemn sect. 
Their golden petals, flat and trim, 

Firm and compact. 
Lay round the solid disk, intact — 
Upheld with stiff" and stately mien, 
By calyx serrated and green. 

These haughty children of the light 
Loomed grandly, everywhere in sight. 
And by their bearing seemed to say : 

' ' Look up this way ! 
We are the favorites of the sun. 
Whose beams less honored mortals shun." 
* * -x- * * . 

To-day, bowed, meek, depressed they stand, 

As by some curse. 
Some scathing sacerdotal ban. 

Or, something worse ! 
And thus reversed, they seem to say % 

" Look down our way, 
All sublunary things decay ! " 



1 6 COSMOS. 

Their tarnished petals, fluttering, torn, 

(No longer trim) 
By every passing breeze are borne ; 
The calyx, once incisive, keen. 
Is shriveled, dog-eared, scarcely seen, 

And far from gree:"i ! 
While dingy disks, devoid of rim, 

Look seedy, sere. 

And very queer. 

The forms on which these blossoms rest 
Bend downward, as by guilt oppressed, 

Poor reedy rods ! 

Lank Ichabods, 
In leaf-lorn, wind-flapped raiment rent. 
Seeming to say, in drear lament, 
" The world is hollow, so are we. 
All, all on earth is vanity ! ' ' 

Inglorious scions of the sun, 
Whose transitory race is run. 
Mayhap, but for your foolish pride y 
Less shabbily ye might have died. 



THE ROSE. 17 



THE ROSE. 

' I ^HE rose is Juno's flower, 
Born in Love's bovver ; 
A heart of purest gold 
Her leaves enfold. 

But Hebe, queen of May, 
In depth of earth, 
Quickened its birth. 
The rose must needs be fair 
Under such care ! 



i8 COSMOS. 



MORNING GLORIES. 

"P AIRY-LIKE trumpeters, blowing at morn, 

What is your pedigree ? where were ye born ? 
Textures ye wear of most marvelous hue. 
Surely the rainbow hath lent them to you ! 

Say, were ye banished from Eden's fair home. 
Doomed with weak mortals, as wanderers, to roam ? 
Winding, ascending, with tear-bedewed face, 
Are ye lost spirits beseeching for grace ? 

Phantoms ye seem, of ethereal birth, 
Heavenly heralds, not offspring of earth. 
Cannot the rainbow reveal you its power 
To vanish as mist, to escape in the shower ? 

Wafted through ether ere noon-tide's high day. 
Freed from the blight of the sun's scorching ray, 
Ye might discover that Eden again 
Which fallen humanity seeks for in vain. 



THE MO ON FL O WER. 1 9 



THE MOON FLOWER. 

T ATONA, mother of the moon, 

Juno, the queen at high mid-noon. 
In jealous rage, from dizzying height, 
Consigned to realms of endless night. 

In pitying mood, the sea-god caught 
Her trembling form, and quick as thought 
Raised from the deep an island home, 
Wherein the fugitive might roam. 

Here, far from Juno's tyranny, 
At Delos, in the ^gean Sea, 
Latona's offspring saw the light. 
Twin deities of Day and Night. 

Apollo rules the fiery sun ; 
Diana reigns when day is done ; 
Her flower, the darling of the night, 
Expands beneath the moon's soft light. 



COSMOS. 

Its sea-green chalice is a star 

Dropped from the realms where angels are, 

To hide the virgin flower away 

Until the close of garish day. 

By cooling dews of evening fed, 
The snowy blossom lifts its head; 
Each waxen petal swift unfolds. 
Which, proud, the glittering disk upholds. 

Its subtle fragrance fills the air ; 
Earth never saw a flower so fair ; 
Nor hath it fit abiding place 
For one of such celestial race. 

Diana gives, but takes its breath ; 
Apollo finds it cold in death ; 
Enshrouded in a starry bier ; 
Fulfilled is its brief misson here. 



THE WHITE CLOVER. 



THE WHITE CLOVER. 

( TrifoHtnii.) 

" I "HOU most insistent plant, 

Trifoliate and trim, 
Of industry the type, 

In inclination, prim ! 
Deep down thy tiny cups 

The honey-bee doth dive, 
Extracting hoarded sweets 

For his depleted hive. 
From out thy floral spikes, 

What odors of the spring 
Thou dost exhale; and, oh. 

What memories they bring ! 



COSMOS. 



THE ADDER'S TONGUE.* 

( OpkioglossMfi.') 

T^HE serpent's trail doth bind thee fast 

To earth, poor opening flower; 
Thou hast its pointed tongue for leaves, 
A sorry birthright's dower ! 

No wonder that thou hidest thee 

In deep, sequestered wood, 
Where beech, birch, pine and maple shield 

Thee, as indeed they should. 

For them thy yellow lilies bloom. 
Although with drooping head ; 

For them thy sharpened leaves expand ; 
For them thy tears are shed. 

'Tis vain to pluck thy blossoms frail. 

For they resist the raid. 
And quickly fold their petals fair 

Ere they begin to fade. 

''From (he 7-esernhlance of the leaf to a serpenf s tongue. 



THE ADDER'S TONGUE. 23 

A mottled carpet dost thou spread, 

For fairy-footed May, 
The Virgin's month, who will, perchance, 

Thy curse bear far away. 



24 COSMOS. 



THE MAY-FLOWER, 

OR 

Trailing Arbutus. 

/^F Mary's flower, in fitting strain to sing, 
^~^ I needs must penetrate the heart of spring ; 
Disclose its depths ; unseal its mysteries : 
Shun human haunts for whispering forest breeze, 
Where supine, prostrate, are the trailing leaves 
Of Epigaea,* who this name receives 
Because of her appealing attitude, 
Maintained without surcease in lonely wood ; 
And thus she draws heaven's benediction down, 
Hence have her healing virtues t such renown. 
Tlie health-restoring leaves are ever green, 
And may all seasons of the year be seen, 
Though to unearth them from the winter's snow, 
One must their covert hiding places know. 
In close, luxuriant masses, shyly peer 
The waxen buds when May-birds first appear. 

* From l£.\>\-t(pon, and gt-ihe earth ; from its prostrate hahil. 
\ The root and the leaves are said to have rare curative properties. 



THE MAY-FLOWER. 25 

They cannot blossom, it is said, till then, 
For ever since our Savior's death, and when 
In resurrecting power, the earth awakes 
From winter's sleep, and Easter gladness takes 
The place of Lenten fast, at Mary's smile, 
Her flowers, all tremulous with joy the while, 
Expand, exhaling dewy odors sweet. 
As sign of homage and devotion meet. 
The universe with subtle sense of spring 
Is filled, and animates each living thing ; 
Our pulses seem, with life renewed, to leap, 
As with her flower, May's festival we keep. 

A Plea for Our National Emblem. 

Well might our land May's fragrant blossom choose, 

To be her floral emblem. Would it lose 

Thereby that matchless grace — humility? 

The May-flower bore across the billowy sea 

Our Pilgrim Fathers, by the grace of God ; 

Their ensign lifted not the golden-rod. 

The nation's sign should not be tarnished gold, 

With poisoned emanations* in it hold ; 

A beacon, pointing to the world's far west, 

As Eldorado, needs refiner's test. 

Its gold should be from base admixture free; 

Its motto — purity, fraternity. 

* The golden-rod gives out poisonous eviatiolions. 



26 COSMOS. 

France bears aloft her fragrant fleur-de-lis, 

Delight of humming-bird and honey-bee. 

Competing, let us bear some beauteous flower, 

As symbol true of Freedom's glorious dower. 

If sweet arbutus be the choice of few. 

We can, at least, the golden-rod eschew , 

Then, too, our Epiggea might refuse. 

Compelling us another flower to choose. 

The sunflower might, indeed, have prior claim, 

For stature, also for its golden name ; 

For cosmopolitan and world-wide lore, 

I would the cosmos take and search no more ; 

Her growth, which doth all other plants outvie. 

Our country's magnitude would typify, 

And though indigenous to every land, 

We, too, all nationalities command. 

For cosmos, then, we make our earnest plea. 

And trust the nation's arbiters will see 

The reason why we feel immediate need 

To have it take the place of noxious weed. 



NATURE 



Part II— Changes 



NATURE'S TEACHINGS. 29 



NATURE'S TEACHINGS. 

'\ VEILED in soft beauty Nature lies ; 

*' Her balm I seek, for ear and eyes 
Are sated with the restless crowd, 
The altercations fierce and loud, 
Where greed of gain, desire for wealth, 
Banish peace, happiness and health. 

Dear mother earth, upon thy breast 

I seek reflection's calming rest. 

World-weary, I have come to learn 

The meaning of life's lesson stern ; 

Strengthened by thy maternal care, 

I shall not yield to dread despair, 

A thousand thoughts within me burn. 

As longingly to thee I turn ; 

Fain would I weave in harmony 

The complex threads of destiny. 

What though my days are but a span — 

Shapen aright, they surely can 

And will a glorious harvest yield. 

Do not the lilies of the field. 

Each blade of grass, each shrub and tree, 

Speak silently this truth to me ? 



30 COSMOS. 

Nature, in her dominion wide, 
Doth riches lavishly provide. 
How comforting her kindly sway 
If we her gentle voice obey ! 
She bids me be of heart again, 
And proffers panacea for pain. 
She whispers, patiently to watt, 
While weaving at the web of fate, 
Until the tangled threads unite 
And blend in diverse forms aright. 
Thus life's completed tapestry 
In warp and woof shall perfect be. 



THE DEATH OF THE LEAVES. 31 



THE DEATH OF THE LEAVES. 

O IGHT royally robed in scarlet and gold, 
*■ Battalions of leaves to my vision unfold ; 
How they whirl ! How they fly ! Obeying the call 
Of their mother, the earth, on whose bosom they fall. 

Yet myriads are clad in colors severe, 
Mayhap in lament of the death that draws near ; 
For as shelter and shield from the midsummer's sun, 
Their mission is ended, their life-work is done. 

But why do I say that " their life-work is done " ? 
When truthfully pondered 'tis only begun. 
Their use is but changed from the tree to the ground, 
And mighty the service which now they have found ! 

Uniting their fibers so filmy and fine. 
From oak and from maple, from tendril and vine, 
Rich tapestries fling they o'er forest and glen. 
Outvying portrayal by pencil or pen. 



32 COSMOS. 

What exquisite carpet for green -wooded aisles ! 
How dextrously spread amid rocky defiles ! 
While the surplus is woven by birds into nests, 
As offerings votive — the Leaves' last bequests. 

Oh, wonderful leaflets that shimmer and shine, 
Whose shadings of green are now ruby as wine, 
Or yellow as gold, or brown russet sere, 
The lessons ye teach me are pricelessly dear. 

The study, though complex, so rich is in thought ; 

With wisdom of ages it seemeth inwrought; 

How well if our "life-work" when death draweth 

near, 
Like the leaves shall in vistas extended appear ! 



MY PORCH HANGINGS. 33 



MY PORCH HANGINGS. 

A DRAPING ofscarlet and gold 

My beautiful porch doth enfold. 
While shadings of russet and green 
Are skillfully woven between. 

The filaments recklessly run 
(As though further labor to shun) 
Over ceiling, window and roof, 
Like children fleeing reproof. 

No artist could fashion a screen 

More fit for fairy or queen, 

And, seen through tlie sun's glowing light, 

'Tis brightness to dazzle the sight. 

As the winds lightly blow 
The boughs to and fro, 
No words can portray 
The rhythmical sway, 
The musical play 
Of these marvelous shades. 
As the daylight slow fades. 



34 COSMOS. 

*Tis beauty too fragile to last ; 
The sun even now is o'ercast, 
Preparing to carry away 
My hangings so gorgeously gay. 

Tomorrow Jack Frost will appear ; 
Alas ! and alack ! and oh dear ! 
My spirit protestingly grieves 
To lose my enclosure of leaves. 



OUR TREE. 35 



OUR TREE. 

/^UR dwelling, an eight-gabled mansion, 
^-^^ Is rambling and quaint as can be ; 
And close by the favorite window 
There grows a remarkable tree. 

In autumn, bewidowed and childless, 
She changeth her garment of green 

For grief-robe of brown-tinted yellow, 
Her sorrow and sadness to screen. 

But the winds rudely rend it to tatters, 
And leave her uncovered and bare ; 

Grand, gloomy and pulseless, she standeth 
Alone in her silent despair. 

As paralyzed, all through the winter, 
She heedeth nor tempest nor snow, 

Inviting no ray of the sunlight 

That seeketh an entrance below : — 



36 COSMOS. 

Till, touched by the coming of April, 
Awakened by breath of the spring. 

Transformed and renewed, recreated. 
What magical changes they bring ! 

Behold now her radiant leafage, 

Of verdurous, satiny sheen ; 
Truncated, twin-lobed, safe guarding 

The blossoms which yet are unseen. 

Soon, kissed by the breeze and the sunshine, 

The wonderful tulips appear; 
Expanding, enchanting, entrancing, 

A marvel of marvels is here ' 

The mater (no more dolorosa) 
Her progeny counts by the score ; 

Who could dream that our liriodendron* 
Held latent such fruitage in store. 

* Literally lily tree. 



A FHOST PICTURE. 37 



A FROST PICTURE. 

T^WO crystal pedestals, attached to feet 

Whose bloodless veins are filled with icy sleet, 
Dangling like culprits 'twixt the earth and sky. 
Framed in my window pane, attract the eye. 
How queer and quaint, upon the arrested sight. 
These headless limbs appear, pierced by the light ! 
Grotesque, yet human, too, as though stopped short 
While in pursuit of something come to naught ; 
Imprisoned now, mid landscape cold and still, 
Bound to the window with consummate skill. 

Beyond, like stern grim sentinels, the pines. 
Encircling hill and dale, the view confines ; 
Snow-drifts to right, and snowy heaps to left, 
A portraiture t'would seem of life bereft. 
But no ! Nature's great heart is beating yet ; 
Her sun, now brightly shining, doth but set 
Too soon for us awhile, and sends its beams 
To other lands, to give us time for dreams. 
The cloudless canopy of blue above 
(An all-embracing dome) the Father's love 
Bespeaks, which permeates all space, all climes. 



38 COSMOS. 

In His wise hands all seasons are, all times, 
And so, should circumstance arrest our steps 
And seem to stop our onward way, e'en depths 
Of solitude and winter snows may teach 
The eager soul its destined place to reach ; 
While figures chiseled by the artist. Frost, 
Brought to our vision without labor, cost. 
Can give an impetus to living thought. 
Which may in divers patterns be inwrought. 



ARABESQUE ARCHITECTURE. 39 



ARABESQUE ARCHITECTURE. 

"\ X /"OULD'ST see our arabesque-roofed abode? 

* ' (For this, you must know, is now all the mode. ) 
Of the beauteous carving you surely would rave, 
If seen upon altar, pulpit or nave. 
It glistens, and glitters, and shineth afar. 
As proudly competing with planet or star : 
The while, as endued by some magical power, 
It changes expression, t' would seem, every hour. 
Sometimes it is massive, redundantly so ; 
Anon, in the sunlight it vanishes slow, 
Dripping, and drooping, and dropping apart, 
Defying all precedents laid down in art. 
Again, through some latent or cohesive spell, 
Or sculptor invisible, (pray can you tell?) 
Reforming, reshaping stalactites so strong, 
To grotto enchanted they seem to belong. 
'Tis Beauty's delusion most transient, I know. 
Yet wealth of pure pleasure as outcome doth flow ; 
Transferred to the vision, 'twill often appear 
In glory enduring, of retrospect clear. 
Though roof may be shorn of its arabesque weight, 
Tomorrow great Nature will new joys create ; 
So wait we with reverent and wondering awe. 
For contrasts are cheering, though icicles thaw. 



40 COSMOS. 



THE PRIMAL AGE 

T DID not know, till poet friend 

Revealed it to my wondering eye, 
That in the pictures which are made 
By Frost, the water age doth lie. 

These curious traceries are now 
With speculations interwrought, 

Concerning this primeval age, 

Ere God from chaos order brought. 



\nd since, I cannot tell you how 

It doth my fantasy enchain, 
To study this revealing of 

Earth's growth upon my window pane. 



ENCHANTMENT. 41 



ENCHANTMENT. 

A PERFECT picture meets my waking eye ! 

The midnight shower, caught in its downward 
way 
By cunning Frost, enwraps the gray 
Of warrior trees in glistening panoply 
Of silver mail; while pointing to the sky. 
Illumined by the sun's transforming ray, 
Their sharpened spears so proudly held at bay, 
Arrest the sight of every passer-by. 
'Tis jeweled glory fit for crowned queen ! 

The tender twigs droop 'neath the unwonted weight 
Of icy armor, shedding pearly tears, 
Which drop by drop the pitying winds, unseen. 
Convey to earth where woes of king and state 
Shall lie till Life's whole pageant disappears. 



42 COSMOS. 



PATRICIAN SPINNERS. 



O PINNERS in myriad numbers are near; 
^~^ List to the reeling that falls on the ear ! 
Some work their looms amid meadow and brook ; 
Others, selecting sequestering nook, 
Weave at their leisure in brook or in tree, 
Chirping while working, outvying the bee. 
Time have they never for frolic or play. 
Ceaselessly forming, by night and by day, 
Filmy-like fibers too fine for the sight, 
Wrought into fabrics for fairies' delight. 
Grasshopper, cricket, whatever thou art, 
Aurora, they tell us, laid siege to thy heart ; 
Changed thy proportions to this which we see. 
From world-renowned Trojan of rare pedigree. 
But the sad tale of Tithonous (such was his name) 
I'll briefly compile from the annals of fame, 
That all may respect the Gryllidae* queer. 
As reason, with rhythm, shall render it clear. 

* Family name of (he cricket and grasshopper. 



PATRICIAN SPINNERS. 43 

As soon as the heart of the prince she had won, 
The goddess espoused him (the legend doth run) ; 
Whereon he implored her, petition the Fates 
To make him immortal, mythology states. 
But failing to ask that his youth should remain. 
Time found him a captive to dotage and pain ; 
For Death, at the Destiny's will, passed him by, 
Unheeding his plea, not to live but to die. 
Aurora, to hide the distortions of age. 
Transformed him, in pity, to grasshopper sage. 
****** 

The years hasten on ; proud empires decay ; 
Yet still at his loom he worketh away ; 
He and his progeny drearily reel. 
Endlessly turning Fate's Ixion-wheel. 



44 COSMOS. 



MARCH. 



'T*HE fermentative days have come; 

All nature out of gear ; 

Blows and commotions everywhere \ 

'Tis cheerless, chill and drear. 



We call it spring ! What's in a name? 

Sage Shakespeare could not tell. 
A blizzard-blowing fiend doth reign ; 

This fact we know full well. 



Displacer of stern winter's rule, 
Routing the snow and ice, 

Both using and abusing them 
With devilish device. 



And should they chance to disappear 

In vernal, warming thaws, 
Presto ! he calls them back, nor deigns 

A reason or a cause. 



MARCH. 45 

What lesson, Nature, may we learn 

From this destructive king, 
Who giveth winds high carnival 

And makes a jest of spring? 

Awaiting answer, this I heard : 

'■'■ No change occurs in vain, 
And gentler April's fitful moods, 

Though born in throes of pain. 

" Give birth in turn to genial May, 

Bright, laughing, happy May, 
Wherein the resurrected earth 

Her mysteries display. 

" As harrow to unyielding soil. 

As leaven unto bread, 
So is this fermentative month 

Which fills the world with dread." 



46 COSMOS. 



WHITHER. 



OEAUTIFUL butterfly, whither so fast? 

Creature of summer from chrysalis cast, 
Joy in the present, for past is thy spring ; 
Thou hast no future, ephemeral thing. 



Wondrously spun are thy gossamer sails, 
Fluttering and flying mid sunshiny gales, 
Speeding so lightly o'er billows of air. 
Fairy-manned mariner, what dost thou bear? 

Soulless creation, say, how canst thou know 
' ' Whither, ' ' or that thou shalt soon be laid low ? 
I am immortal ! Where thy journey ends. 
Mine with the tliss of futurity blends. 



THE HARVEST MOON. 47 



THE HARVEST MOON. 

"PAIR harvest moon, whose silvery gaze 
-'- Fills me with wonder and amaze, 

What peaceful calm. 

What subtle charm, 
What memories thou dost embalm ! 

Thy stately Virgin Majesty, 

From passion free 
Serenely sails o'er land and sea. 
Thou knowest naught of earth-born pain ; 
To woo thy sympathy were vain ; 
What are fond lovers' sighs to thee 

Who never knew Love's ecstasy? 

Benignant is thy gentle sway, 

Though cold and chill ; 

By human ill 
Unmoved. Yet dost thou strangely fill 

My throbbing breast 

With sense of rest ! 



48 C0S3/0S. 

A starry host attendeth thee 
In yonder sparkling canopy, 
Eager to bear thy fleecy train 
Until the morning come again. 

Farewell, sail on from east to west ! 
Mine eyelids droop, with sleep oppressed ; 
Sated with wonder and amaze, 
No longer can I bear thy gaze. 



A FOREST SQUIRRILOQUY. 49 



A FOREST SQUIRRILOQUY. 



A SQUIRREL and a blue-jay met 
■^^ Upon a tall pine tree ; 
" Halloo ! my friend, " the squirrel says, 
" How fares your majesty? " 



The blue-jay's feathers swell with scorn, 

Hushed are his notes of glee ; 
" How dare such four-legged thing," he shrieks, 

" Claim comradeship with me? " 



The squirrel whisks his bushy tail, 
Sits upright on the bough, 

Blinks saucily, and then replies: 
" How do you like me now ? " 



Adown the squirrel's hairy coat, 
O'er his own plumage gay, 

Blue-jay darts fierce, contrasting looks, 
Then proudly soars away. 



50 COSMOS. 

As antidote to heal the hurt 

Of this most cruel cut, 
The squirrel from the pine tree's trunk 

Ferrets a savory nut. 

Gnawing away reflectively, 

With sage, uplifted paw, 
A startled crow goes whizzing by, 

With frightened ''caw, caw, caw I " 

Bang ! Limbs, eyes, tail are all alert ; 

He seeks his turret door. 
And quickly scales the barricade 

Built by his winter's store. 

Peering forth furtively from this. 

His castle's safe retreat. 
Far down, behold the proud jay lies 

Dead at the hunter's feet. 

Soliloquizing thus, he spake : 

" Oh, foolish dandy jay, 
You'd better far been born as I, 

A simple squirrel gray." 

Nor man, nor beast, nor animal. 
Much less a blue-jay small, 

Can safely set at nought the truth, 
" That pride must have a fall." 



EMULATION. 51 



EMULATION. 

A T break of day I rise, 
■*■ *■ That phantoms of the night 
May vanish with the sun's 
Electrifying light. 

And now a mellow glow 

The sullen landscape clears ; 

The King at last has come, 
And darkness disappears. 

Rejoicing anthems loud 

Peal through the summer air, 

And find an echo in my heart. 
Dispelling every care. 

I'll emulate your notes, 

Ye feathered songsters sweet ; 
'Tis fit in songs of praise 

His majesty to greet. 



52 COSAWS. 



THE FESTIVAL OF AUTUMN. 

A UTUMNAL days again are here, 
The summer blossoms disappear, 
Exhaling still their balmy breath 
In memory of Beauty's death. 
Chrysanthemums and asters proud, 
Her dying Majesty enshroud. 
Forbidding Love's regretful tear. 
So vainly shed o'er Summer's bier. 
The air is filled with odors sweet ; 
Crimson and gold the vision meet. 
Birds, singing gayly ere their flight. 
Add music to the joys of sight. 
The fields, bedecked with emerald green, 
Mid ripened sheaves of grain are seen, 
And trailing vines, the weighty mold 
Of ponderous pumpkins trembling hold, 
Whose yellow faces hedge the way. 
Like lurking Indians at bay. 
Guarding their trail with stern rebuff. 
Encased in epidermis tough. 
Fruit-laden trees o'er hill and glade. 
Invite us to their cooling shade. 
While Bacchus, ivy-crowned, presents 
The vintage cup 'neath fir trees dense. 



THE FESTIVAL OF AUTUMN. 53 

Satyrs and Fauns his nod obey ; 
To vineyards fair he leads the way, 
Where ruby grapes, in clusters hung, 
Recall weird myths by shepherds sung, 
Of Pan, their sylvan deity. 
Whose reedy pipe, blown o'er the lea. 
Gives signal of supreme command. 
And bears them off to wonder-land. 
Here, fanned by flame of Psyche's fire. 
The Satyrs at Apollo's lyre, 
Dance to the nightingale's loud call. 
Which echoes through their forest hall. 
Flora and Zeph'rus were there, 
Pomona, too, and Dian fair; 
Echo and Syrinx, loved by Pan, 
With vine-clad Bacchge sporting ran, 
Or with coquettish, elfish glance. 
Joined in the mazy midnight dance. 
But with Aurora's earliest beams. 
Vanish the shepherds' harvest dreams. 

Enchanting season, set apart 
For fairy fantasies thou art ! 
When Nature, clad in best array. 
Keeps mellow Autumn's holiday. 
Then let us follow in her train. 
For soon stern winter comes again. 



54 COSMOS. 



A PEN PICTURE DRAWN FROM MY STUDY 
WINDOW. 

OEE yonder stately pines, how firm they stand, 
^~^ Upheld so royally by Nature's hand ! 
Clear mirrored by the sun's mercurial glass. 
Their shadows fall aslant the velvet grass, 
Beneath whose restful shade, contented cows 
Chewing reflective cud, at leisure browse. 
With deafening caw, caw, caw, and wild career, 
The gypsies of the air held conclave here ; 
Their aerial tent deserted now and still. 
Save by the plaintive note of whip-poor-will. 
On topmost boughs was spread, while to and fro, 
Pluming their sable wings for flight, they go 
On daring plunder bent. Poor wandering crows ! 
So high above the law's resistless blows, 
Fearing nor whistling winds, nor lightning's flash. 
And chattering loudest mid the thunder's crash. 
The cruel hunter marked you for his prey, 
And ye have fled in terror, far away ! 
Shrewd man, though with the elements at strife, 
Holds sovereign sway o'er all inferior life. 



A PEN PICTURE. 55 

Unmoved by cawing crow or lowing kine, 

Still stand, like sentinels in solemn line, 

My tall, majestic pines, guarding the way 

With ceaseless vigilance, by night and day. 

Thither the winds convene to weep and sigh. 

Lifting sad voices to the shoreless sky. 

Like land-locked sea, the pent-up currents meet, 

Whose angry billows, forced to beat retreat 

In wild commotion and in loud rebound, 

A wealth of shell-shaped cones dash to the ground, 

Scattering to earth the rusted needled leaves 

Rejected by the thrifty, vigorous trees. 

Anon, a silence rests o'er hill and glade, 

In ermined robes my pines are now arrayed. 

With regal air, and bearing proudly cold, 

Their scepters (glistening icicles), they hold ; 

Set are their coronets with diamonds bright, 

Sparkling in rainbow-hues of haloed light. 

The sheeted snow upon the landscape falls, 

While cattle, driven to their cheerless stalls. 

No longer in the vaulted grove are seen ; 

Winter has robbed them of their pastures green. 

The bladed grass, in frosted coat of mail. 

Is shielded from the tempest and the hail. 

In death-like slumber destined to remain 

Till wakening spring instil new life again. 

Unharmed, from out their royal robes, still shines 

The fadeless verdure of my noble pines. 



56 COS A/OS. 

Each changing season lends some subtle charm 
To their unchanging forms, so grandly calm ! 
Not Ophir's gold, or spoils of India, could 
Replace the loss of this sequestered wood, 
So rich in wealth of thought and memories keen ; 
And though my tenure be but poet's lien. 
Words can but picture to the eye and ear 
The sights and sounds which render it so dear. 



MOODS 



PHIL OSOPH V IN SONG. 59 



PHILOSOPHY IN SONG. 

T ENTJERED my parlor one day, 
■*■ With thought on the wing; 
I'll capture the vagrant, I cried, 
And teach it to sing. 

Its cage shall be melody's bars ; 

If left free to soar, 
T'will vanish away in the air. 

Be mine nevermore. 

At last, after patience and pains. 

The truant I caught, 
But never a prisoner, I ween, 

Less happiness brought. 

The music was not of the spheres, 

But passionless, tame; 
Though rhythmic, it failed to inspire; 

'Twas verse but in name. 



6o COSMOS. 

Dispirited, strangely oppressed, 
As my soul it had read. 

Flew in at the casement a bird, 
And perched overhead. 



He eyed me with curious glance, 

As much as to say, 
" Like thought you will bind me I know. 

And so I'll away." 



But, lo ! he was caught and encaged ; 

His singing was low. 
Sweet cadenced, pathetic and sad 

As presage of woe. 



He pineth for freedom, I said, 
Wide-opening his door. 

And swiftly he sped, while his loss 
I could but deplore; — 



Till wafted through ether, there came 

The song of the bird 
I sought to enchain, and these are 

The words that I heard : 



PHILOSOPHY IN SONG. 6i 

' ' Left free to have mounted, your thought, 

Brought back through the air. 
Had returned all unsought, to be wrought 

Into fantasies rare." 



62 COSMOS. 



SOME DAY. 

nPHE current of my pent-up thought. 

Repressed and held at bay, 
With strengthened power will overflow 
I know, some future day. 

For streams, enlarged by rivulet. 

Swell as they onward go, 
And feed at last the hungry sea 

With their impetuous flow. 

Why should I not wait patiently 

For this expectant day? 
Whenever time is fully ripe 

There can be no delay ! 



A CELESTIAL COLLOQUY. 



A CELESTIAL COLLOQUY. 

A T day-break one morning, the Sun and Moon met, 
One ready to rise — the other to set. 
The Sun from a cloud-bath emerged all aglow. 
While Luna was pale as the snow-fields below. 

Quoth the Sun : " My fair lady, you must not forget 
That using my moments doth plunge you in debt." 
Diana's soft glance grew cold, as she said : 
" Behold my last quarter ! " and scornfully fled. 



64 COSMOS. 



PREDICTION. 



"P RE Life's frail bark shall reach celestial shore, 
■^ The future pictures lurid days in store. 
E'en now, upon my quickened spirit ear. 
The sound of storm-incoming days I hear. 
Prophetic vision, through the ligntning's flash. 
Sees ghostly, white-capped billows madly dash 
Against the helpless craft, which strives in vain 
To steer its course toward some safe port again. 
Above the angry sea, the darkening sky, 
There dwelleth One who hears His children's cry ; 
His is the rescuing hand in time of need, 
The winds may bend, not break the bruised reed. 



SILENCE. 65 



SILENCE. 

C ILENCE is highest wisdom ! 

^ Charged with results which time cannot efface, 

Outborne by currents permeating space, 

Our thoughts may travel freed from weight of speech, 

And swiftly bear the lesson they would teach. 

'Tvvas God commanded silence ! 
Thus, only man may hear Truth's sovereign voice, 
And in his higher attributes rejoice. 
He cannot realize his destined end 
Till Past and Present with the Future blend. 

Silence is speech concealed ! 
Where darkness disappears in radiant light, 
Angelic hosts bow to its voiceless might. 
Until the music of the spheres is heard. 
Unbroken by disturbing sound of word. 

God giveth in the silence ; 
Bestowing patience upon those who wait. 
And Love, which banisheth revengeful hate ; 
While in her train all lesser gifts we find. 
With which to elevate and bless mankind. 



66 COSAIOS. 

Nature enjoineth silence, 
Wherein the beating of her mighty heart 
Proclaimeth that she is of God a part. 
Each tiny blade of grass, each shrub and tree. 
Contains a world of thought for you and me. 

Wait then, my soul, in silence ! 
Launch forth undaunted, on her mighty sea 
Fear not, though wave, engulfing, compass thee. 
Beyond, a tide shall bear thee safe to shore, 
Freighted with wealth of pure celestial lore ! 



PHOSPIWKIC LIGHT. 67 



ON WATCHING THE PHOSPHORIC LIGHT 
IN THE GULF STREAM. 



T IGHT of the Gulf Stream, called phosphorescent 
"^ Picture of Life's dream most evanescent ; 
Beautiful phantom, sailing so brightly, 
Dancing o'er ocean, skimming so lightly. 



Whither, oh whither, quintessence so fair? 
Art thou creation of earth or of air? 
Art thou that Pleiad lost from the seven, 
Or luminous meteor fallen from heaven? 

Must thou thus ever unceasingly roam 
Like wandering fatuus, far from thy home? 
Image of beauty, come tell me, I pray. 
Wherefore and whither art sailing away? 

" Mortal, the mermaids that dwell in the sea 
Have cast, through their charms, a spell over me. 
Banished from heaven, propelled by the air, 
I came down and decked them with diadems rare. 



68 COSMOS. 

" From my star-bedecked fleece these fairies have spun 
Gossamer draperies bright as the sun ; 
They sing me in voices entrancingly low, 
As lightly over the billows we go." 

So these are the silvery accents I hear, 
Enchanting the senses and soothing the ear. 
O would that we mortals, on Life's changing sea. 
Might glide o'er its waters as happy and free ! 



A STRIFE. 69 



A STRIFE. 

To Linda C . 

T^HE past, dear L , consign to Lethe's stream, 

For wisdom teaches that we should forget. 
The present is our legacy, and yet 
Bequeathed that we its treasures may redeem. 
It is not, therefore, given that we should dream 
The hours away, but rather, that we get 
The most of life from life. Though so beset 
Is it with change that, truly, it doth seem 
Scarce worth the price. The swiftly passing years 
Mete out their dole of pleasure and of pain, 
Each seeking to attain supremacy. 
As clouds the sunshine, smiles by falling tears 

Are chased. A strife it is 'twixt loss and gain, 
Till spirit subjugates mortality. 



^o COSMOS. 



DISCRETION. 



f~^ OD is His own interpreter 
^^ To make His purpose plain ; 
Then wait upon him patiently ; 
Thou shalt not wait in vain. 



He will unfold His truths divine, 
And teach thee all His will ; 

Draw from this overflowing fount, 
And though like shallow rill, 

Thy bed of thought will be enlarged, 
And broader, deeper grow, 

While streams of universal lore 
Within its depths shall flow. 

Now, like the boundless sea, thy mind, 

Unfathomed as its deep, 
Shall gems of priceless value hold. 

Which thou must guarded keep ; 



DISCRETION 71 

Till heavenly wisdom doth suggest 

How they shall shapen be, 
And when to draw them forth, for those 

Who can their beauty see. 



72 COSMOS. 



MY SILENT FRIEND. 

"VV FLOWER of gold I here enclose, 

Attached to emerald leaf. I chose 
It love, to cheer and chide thee, too. 
Perchance 'twill warm thy heart anew ; 
For silent as the souls that dwell 
In space thou art. They cannot well 
Make interchanges due on earth ! 
Did'st know this bonny month, by birth. 
Is mine, and that I claim its flowers, 
Its dewdrops, and its fruitful showers? 
If thou return no sign thou still 
Dost live, thy place I needs must fill. 



THE OCEA.'/ OF LIFE. 73 



THE OCEAN OF LIFE. 

T AM sailing afar on uncertainty's sea, 

Seeking to fathom Life's strange mystery, - 
To sound with my plummet both substance and sham, 
With my mariner's chart to find where I am. 

Through billowy depths my pathway doth lie; 
The port is beyond, unseen to the eye ; 
'Tis death to retreat, so onward I sail ; 
My Captain hath promised that I shall prevail. 

Invisible, know I full well He is near ; 
With Him at the helm, undaunted I'll steer. 
Down, cowardly doubt ! I shall yet reach the land ; 
My vessel is safe in His guiding hand ! 



74 COSMOS. 



MY BIRDLINGS. 



/^UT of the nest have they gone, 
^^ My birdlings all, 

Nor heed they ray call. 
Albeit of danger I warn. 

Each goeth a separate way, 

Pluming their wings. 

Innocent things. 
Impatient of any delay. 

Watching their varying flight. 

Hither and yon, 

Lighting upon 
Whatever attracteth their sight ; 

Never again to return 

Sadly I say. 

Filled with dismay. 
The hearth-fire to ashes doth burn. 



MV BIRD LINGS. 75 

Though hidden away from my view, 

Shall I repine, 

Spirit divine? 
What wilt thou have me to do ? 

Nothing is hidden from Thee. 

Watch o'er their flight, 

Guide them aright, 
Whether by land or by sea. 

Trusting Thy promises sure. 

Onward I go, 

Full well I know, 
I to the end shall endure. 

What though all earth-ties give way, 

So I fulfill 

God's holy will; 
Night shall yet yield to the day. 



76 COSMOS. 



"THOU SHALT NOT KILL." 

"T^HOU shalt not kill," the Decalogue 

Doth most expressly state. 
But I have slain a fiendish foe, 
As by decree of fate. 

And this is how it came about : 

Avoiding wholesome light. 
The villain came with base intent, 

And sought me out at night. 

I shudder now, as I recall 

The unexpected shock, 
Which roused me from my peaceful sleep 

At midnight, by the clock. 

For I shall ne'er forget that sound. 

So sibilant and dread ! 
With hair on end, each sense alert, 

I sprang from out the bed. 



" THOU SHAL T NOT KILL." 77 

And then and there I vowed a vow : 

This demon I'll defy, 
Cause him to suffer in my stead, 

Make him lose blood, not I. 

How long I watched, and patiently. 

Time knows, as he went by. 
Meanwhile eluding me, the imp 

Dashed off upon the fly. 

At last, but oh how warily. 

He poised on my left palm, 
I glory now in retrospect, 

That I remained so calm. 

And thus brought down that dextrous blow, 

So swiftly and so pat, 
Which stained me with mosquito blood, 

But laid him out so flat. 



Could we his whole infernal brood 
From earth to sheol send, 

What suffering to the human race 
On sultry nights, would end ! 



78 COSMOS. 



ADVICE. 

A Rhythmical Proverb. 

'T^ HE foolish world loves pomp and show, 

Rewardeth good for good, I know ; 
But friends retreat from brethren poor. 
Who often beg from door to door. 

The giver seeketh those who give. 
In this queer planet where we live ; 
And money maketh hosts of friends, 
Though at the cost of him who spends. 

For Mammon always gets his price ; 
Then take who will this free advice : 
'Twere best to Wisdom pay a toll. 
Than jeopardize a priceless soul. 



WANT. 79 



WANT. 

T T OW Cometh want ; this cruel foe, 
^^ Which meets us wheresoe'er we go, 
In leaking roof and broken pane. 
In wasted field and weedy lane ? 

This question I had pondered well, 
When Wisdom's voice upon me fell : 
" The slothful, could they understand, 
In slumber barter house and land." 

For Riches meanwhile spreads her wings. 
But leaves a guest that terror brings : 
Grim Want, a ruthless sentinel. 
Who henceforth holds the citadel. 



8o COSMOS. 



SMOKE SUBLIMATED. 

OILENT he smoked, as one who would forget, 
'^ While graceful, winding wreaths my vision met. 
Ere long the grosser substance burned away, 
And in a heap of smoldering ashes lay ; 
Still stealing up and on, the curling smoke 
Within my brain a thousand fancies woke. 
United, yet in never-ceasing strife, 
Spirit and substance are, in mortal life ; 
Fire, purifying, sets the spirit free. 
Till then, the grosser part is all we see. 

So, from the ashes of our hopes oft rise 

Weird wreaths of mystic fancies, which our eyes, 

To heaven uplifted, eager watch until 

In vaporous mist they disappear, but fill 

The restless soul the while with purest peace, 

As it from fretful flesh had won release. 

Then let us not at sight, despise or deem 

That common or unclean, which, though it seem 

To be viewed only with material eye. 

May hold the germ of thought that cannot die ; 

Which touched by disembodying spark divine. 

Can lift us from this sublunary earth 

To heights Pierian, where Thought claims birth. 



LOVE 



DIVINE LOVE. 83 



DIVINE LOVE. 

T OVE divine, all Love excelling, 

Be in me a fount indwelling 
Which shall send forth streams of light, 
Fertilizing, making bright. 
Weary, gloomy souls oppressed. 
Comforting the lonely breast. 

May its outflow wisely go, 

Not in useless overflow ; 

Free from self-love let it be. 

Pure and sparkling fresh from thee ; 

Then may I to love-lorn hearts 

Give the joy such love imparts. 



84 COSMOS. 



THE DIFFERENCE. 

*" I "O love with all the soul's intensity 

Is God-like. God is Love ! Oh gift divine, 
Fill with thy sacred flame this heart of mine, 
Until existence shall transmuted be, 
Revivified and glorified by thee ; 
Who art Life's life, its subtle essence fine, 
Wherein uniting, Faith and Hope combine 
To pledge to mortal, immortality ! 

To be loved is a human cry, I know ; 

It is the ultimate of bliss below ; 

But oft it binds the heart in slavery ! 

It is the giver only who is free. 

God's lever to uplift our fallen race 

Is selfless Love, which conquers Time and Space. 



LOVE CANNOT DIE. 85 



LOVE CANNOT DIE. 

T OVE never dies ! 

Albeit the idols from their niches fall, 
And leave the soul enrobed in sabled pall. 

Love is of God. 
'Tis born above, descendeth from the sky ; 
It is immortal, therefore cannot die ! 

Love glorifies, 
And so sheds luster o'er the dreariest way, 
Chasing dull care with its celestial ray. 

Who hath not loved. 
Hath groped among the shadows of the night, 
Hath missed from joyous day its gracious light. 

Not to have loved 
Is to have lost the perfume of the rose. 
Whose hidden sweets love only can disclose. 



86 COSMOS. 

Love lives for aye. 
Though hidden be its germ in depths below, 
Shall ye not reap that which in tears ye sow? 

Love ever lives. 
Thus in my saddest hour I solace find. 
With rosemary of remembrance fair entwined, 

My absent Love, 
My fallen idol, riseth new to life ; 
Bends o'er me while I sleep from wearying strife. 

Love is God's gift, 
Is whispered softly, so can never die ; 
'Twill bloom with added beauty bye and bye. 



IF. 87 



IF. 



^17 H Y loved I thee ? 

* '^ I cannot say. It was to be ! 
How loved I thee? 
No form of speech the how can teach. 
Deep as the sea, 
Fervid as fire, 
Pure as the snow — 
Woe, woe, is me ! 
A funeral pyre that burned till, lo ! 
An ashen heap 
Whereon to keep 
Pansies for thought, with myrrh inwrought. 
. A sorrowing joy, 
Oh, strange alloy ! 
Still, still it lies, 'neath leaden skies. 

Cremated bliss ! Can love like this, 
. Mid favored skies, again arise ? 

Some star-lit night. 

Borne by the breeze, 
I'll wing my flight 

Through airy seas. 
And seek the spot 
Where springs the dawn, and love was born. 



COSMOS. 

If there 1 learn the how and why, 
And ascertain, with glad surprise, 
That this dead love again will rise, 

Through nether sky, I'll swiftly fly, 
And whisper it with heart aglow. 
To one who loved me well, I know. 



MEMORIES. 



MEMORIES. 

"\ 17" HAT though my Love and I should meet no 

more, 
Have we not wealth of soulful days in store? 
Of dreamful days, over a sunlit sea, 
When it was Paradise enough, to be? 

And so across the storm-tossed years of time, 
I send affection's greeting, framed in rhyme. 
Enough if it but show that Love, o'erpast, 
May treasure memories which forever last. 



90 COSMOS. 



"DRIFTED APART." 



""T^rifted apart," friend of my heart ! 
^'^ Drifted apart, did you say ? Art 
Thou to blame, that Lov-e's hallowed flame, 
By fuel Elysian fed. 
Has flickered — is dead ? 



Or is it I ? Soul, make reply ! 

Far from me truly is he. Streams that divide, 

Full well I know 

Change as they flow, 
Leaving drear distances wide. 

Vain is retreat ! Timid the feet. 
Feeble, unworthy and base, that in life's race 

Retrogress — turn. 
Though friend or foe deal stinging blow, 
Onward true heroes must go ! 



SEA AND SHORE. 91 



SEA AND SHORE. 

An outflow of H. H's *' Tides." 

T CANNOT sleep, dear Love, for thoughts of thee 
Are filling heart and brain. My pulses beat, 
And a wild longing comes to find retreat 
And shelter on thy breast. Would I might flee 
To thy strong arms ! For thou art like the sea ; 
While I, the shore, may not go out to meet 
Thy warm embrace. Nay, howsoever sweet, 
I must resist Love's tide, and lonely see 
Thee turn away to some far distant shore. 

Revolving time may bring thee back, and yet 
How doth my heart and soul misgive me lest 
The tidal waves, receding, leap no more ! 
If so it be, perchance I may forget ; 

Heart of my heart, can Fate give sterner test ? 



92 COSMOS. 



AH ME! 

TT E needed laughter and I gave him tears, 
Which unto Melancholy's train belong; 

The while, his soul cried out for mirth and song ; 
For something that could scatter darkening fears ; 
For Hope's bright face which like the sunshine 
cheers. 

Ah me, I did his nature grievous wrong ! 

But why this strain of penitence prolong? 
The pity of it all the more appears. 
And yet, as warning, it may serve to mold 
Some thought for those who Love's frail blossoms hold. 
Would you retain them, no diapason sad 
Must thrill the heart-strings. Lightest notes and 

glad 
Are far the best. Affection's undertow 
Avoid, lest lachrymosal glands o'erflow ! 



MNEMOSYNE. 93 



MNEMOSYNE. 

"DY powerful and subtle spell o'ercast, 

Mnemosyne hath captured, bound me fast ! 
Holding her mirror to my inner sight, 
With pictured images of rare delight, 
Visions of perfect days, without alloy. 
Of Life, electrified with new-found joy, 
Beatified by Love's transforming power, 
When, roseate-tinted, flew each blissful hour. 
As tribute placed upon thy sacred shrine, 
Which I with pansies' emblemed thought entwine, 
My grateful homage do I bring to thee, 
Bewitching goddess, fair Mnemosyne ! 
With skill more potent than magician's charm, 
Hast thou this respite of nepenthic calm 
Accorded me — a blissful interlude 
To nerve my spirit for some sterner mood. 
E'en though its sun-lit pictures fade away, 
I owe to thee, at least, this peerless day ! 
Receding, precious treasures thou dost bear. 
Which, trustful, leave I to thy guardian care. 



94 COSMOS. 



NIMMERMEHR. 

pROPELLED by thoughts long held at bay, 

My soul was borne one summer day 
Across the ocean's pathless deep, 
Whose waves a requiem seemed to keep, 
With this refrain, "Ah, nevermore ! " 
At last I reached a sunny shore. 
And now, released from doubt's dull pain, 
Believing, trusting once again. 
The winged hours sped swiftly by 
Beneath that glowing, tropic sky ; 
But all too soon the vision fled. 
" God help me ! " bitterly I said, 
For well I know nor earth, nor sea. 
Can resurrect dead love for me ! 



SIC SEMPER. 95 



SIC SEMPER. 

''"PNTREAT me not to leave thee, Love!" he 

"^ cried, 
" For thou hast life uplifted, glorified ! 
Near thee, as in some safely sheltered nest, 
Storm-tossed and weary, find I refuge, rest." 

Anon ! 'twas I who needed rest, repose, 
For trusted friends had turned to bitterest foes ; 
But calm, he watched me breasting wildest sea, 
Nor once did he essay to rescue me ! 



96 COSMOS. 



AWAKENED. 

"C^OR Love's pure gold, received I base alloy; 

But all unconscious, with transcendent joy, 
I bore the semblance to my inmost heart, 
Till of my being it became a part. 

So pure and true it seemed ! How could I deem 
That false which had fulfilled Life's dream? 
But Sorrow's crucible betrayed the dross, 
And since, I count as naught all other loss. 



MO R TO RIO. 97 



MORTORIO. 

TT ASTEN the obsequies, 
■"■ "^ True love is dead ! 
Linge"r till " ashes to 
Ashes " is said. 

" Earth unto earth," let it 

Deep buried lie ; 
Wherefore lament, doth not 

All nature die ? 

Mayhap, like seed that is 
Sown in the spring, 

Harvest of new loves, the 
Old love will bring. 



98 COSMOS. 



"IF WE HAD NEVER MET." 



" l_r AD we but lived our lives throughout, 

And never chanced to meet," 
What think you, friend, would life have been 
More bitter, or more sweet ? 



I cannot speak for you, but for 
Myself, 'neath skies of gray. 

Would God that we had never met ! 
I would not dare to say. 

" And why," you ask. Then I'll essay 

To tell you frankly why. 
Though prudent reason vainly seeks 

To baffle my reply. 

Because life was intensified 

By Passion's fiery flame, 
And, lived below its surface calm, 

Was nevermore the same. 



"//- WE HAD NEVER METP 99 

With Love, my slumbering soul awoke 

To conciousiiess of power ; 
It was apportioned from on high, 

My birthright's sacred dower: 



Possessing which, while still bereft, 

My spirit born anew, 
On wings of fancy lightly sped 

To seek the good, the true. 

While Nature led me to her depths, 
She showed her towering heights. 

Which bore me upward far beyond 
Earth's illusory sights. 

Heaven-taught, I learned that human love, 

Once merged in love divine, 
Could satisfy the craving heart, 

And such, alas ! was mine. 

And though but stepping stone, dear friend. 

Has proved your love to me. 
It was not chance whereby we met, 

'Twas destined so to be. 



COSMOS. 



ST. VALENTINE'S ADVICE. 



' E "HE saint whose name is Valentine, 

Bends o'er me, with his face benign, 
And bids me crave a boon from thee, 
Thy faithful knight henceforth to be. 
Do not, I pray, my suit disdain, 
I would not woo thee, love, in vain ; 
And though thou givest me no kiss, 
The loss shall be atoned by this : 
I will exchange my heart for thine. 
Thus only can I call thee mine. 
'Twould re-create the world for me. 
Thy life-long valentine to be ! 



TO MIMOSA. 



TO MIMOSA. 

COUL-SON of my lost Earl, 
^ If ere in ship of pearl 
We sail through azure sea, 
Propelled by destiny, 
And in some orbit higher 
Should meet my heart's desire; 
With intuition true, 
I'll point him out to you, 
And cry, " Propitious fate. 
At last I find my mate ! " 



COSMOS. 



REPLY TO 

" What says the night to jme ? " 

"A^rHAT says the night to me? " 

Beloved friend, life of my inmost soul, 
The night laments that seas of space should roll 
Blindly between us, and with witching power, 
Speaks peace to me in her most holy hour, 
By breathing in mine ear sweet thoughts of thee. 

So speaks the night to me ! 

" Hath night sweet dreams for me? " 
Sometimes she sends blest visions, which like rain, 
Revive Hope's drooping flowers and still the pain 
Of mocking distance ; sweet dreams that bring 
Me to thy side, safe 'neath Love's sheltering wing. 
Go ask my love ye Eden winds, for me — 

Brings night such dreams to thee? 



H^//y? 103 



WHY? 

/^NE day I asked my love, 

v_y ii Why have I loved thee so ? 

And why should'st thou bestow 

Thy love on me, when pain 

Of parting seemeth all the gain ? " 

"It is for Love's own sake. 

E'en though the heart strings break," 

Was her reply. The gain doth lie 

In Love's possession, which can fill all space. 

What other gift, O friend, could take its place ? 



I04 COSMOS. 



EXPOSTULATION. 

/^ LOVE, I dare not sigh for thee, 
^^ Who, blessing, hath so tortured me; 
Or bear again the harrowing test. 
The rapture, infinite unrest, 
The longing never satisfied, 
Save when secure thou dost abide. 
Too soon thy wings prepare for flight ; 
Too soon day mocks the dreams of night. 
Unstable god ! while thee I dread. 
Life is not life when thou hast fled ! 



THE LOST KEY. 105 



THE LOST KEY. 

T^HOU hast unlocked my heart, 
-'■ Which I had deemed no art 
Of Love could e'er again 
Allure to joy or pain. 
Where hast thou found the key ? 
Explain this mystery ! 
Say, did'st thou wend thy way 
Amid the shadows gray, 
Where mermaids of the deep 
Their ceaseless vigils keep ? 
For 'twas to them I gave 
This key, that watery grave 
Might with corrosive touch, 
However much 
The citadel were sought, 
Invasion bar 
From near or far ! 
Some strangely subtle power 
Thou must possess; 
For I am powerless 
To stem the tide 
Which bears me to thy side. 
Binding my heart to thee, 
Who found the key. 



OCCASIONS 



TO THE HON. WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE. 109 



TO THE HON. WILLIAM E. GLADSTONE. 

«' ' I "HE great grand man," seems fittest sobriquet 

For him, our hoped-for oratoric guest. 
Hence we, the ladies, earnestly protest 
Against the prohibitionary "nay," 
O'er shadowing with regret our opening day. 
Fear not, we pray thee, the adventurous test 
Of visiting our eldoradic West ! 
Neptunian waters, which God's will obey, 
Would renovate, nor dare to do thee harm ; 
The rather hold in sacred trust that life 
Which seems prolonged, by omnipresent charm, 
Till thou emerge from this gigantic strife 
For Erin's cause. Naught, then, can do thee harm ! 
And who will doubt such seed as thou dost sow 
Shall royal crown of victory bestow ? 



COSMOS. 



TO HIS MAJESTY 1893, ALL HAIL ! 

T TPON our threshold one doth stately stand, 
^^ In ermined robe, with bearing nobly proud. 
A kingly form ! For lo ! in spotless shroud 
Time hath his sire into the shadowy land 
Conveyed, and given the Son supreme command 
O'er day and night, o'er seasons, sunshine, cloud ; 
What wonder then, with power like this endowed, 
He comes with mien so calm, majestic, grand ! 
What destinies of life and death he holds ! 
The weal or woe of thousands now he molds ; 
For you, for me, what changes may he bring, 
This mighty monarch, this time-wielding king. 
Yet bid him hail ! all hail ! a truce to fear. 
The while, we wish to each a glad new year ! 



OUR AMERICAN SCULPTOR. 



OUR AMERICAN SCULPTOR, 

Adelaide Johnson. 

A CHILD of genius from some starry sphere, 
Was sent to earth, upon a mission here. 
Her childhood passed in semi-solitude; 
She loved great Nature in each varying mood ; 
And thus the song of forest bird she knew, 
And speech of every shrub and flower that grew. 
At home she learned, through wise maternal care, 
Deft household ways, thrift, and obedience rare. 
While heaven-born order seemed her birthright's 

dower. 
And taught the value of each passing hour. 
Now, armed to battle with the outer world. 
Her bark of life was launched, the sail unfurled. 
Go ask the intervening years, to tell 
The struggles and the conquests, that befel 
This brave young heart, which made nor plaint, nor 

moan, 
While breastina; adverse elements alone. 



112 COSMOS. 

The tests were crucial, lengthened and severe. 
At last the storm -tossed craft was seen to near 
Safe harbor, 'neath Italia's sunny skies. 
The star of Hope doth now in triumph rise ! 
This ideal goal, so fervently desired. 
Her being, with such high ambition fired, 
She was as one exempted from fatigue. 
As though with some supernal power in league. 

What wondrous skill the sculptor's art unfolds, 
As from dull clay the human form he molds ! 
Which, chiseled into marble pure and cold. 
Doth germ of living soul imprisoned hold. 
And this ennobling art is hers of whom 
We speak. Preeminently doth it loom 
Above her myriad minor gifts, which serve 
As but propelling impetus, and nerve 
The heart and brain to aid the impatient hand 
In gaining mastery of supreme command. 
Her place is with those pioneers* of thought 
Whose lives with human weal are interwrought. 

*The marble busts of Mrs. Stanton, Miss Anthony and others 
executed by Miss Johnson, witness to this. 



WHEREFORE? 113 



WHEREFORE? 

To Marie Le B. 

T N tortuous windings had life's pathway run 

For both of us, sweet poet friend, when, lo ! 
Impelled by unseen force, mid winter's snow, 
A sudden turning brought them into one. 
Tempestuous, storm-tossed, was the time. The sun 
Had set, nor light of moon or stars to show 
If friend or foe had met. A need to know 
Each other; this was all ! And so begun 
At sorrow's shrine, a love, which binding heart 
To heart, shall nevermore be rent apart. 
It was not wayward chance that brought us near ; 
The why, the wherefore, shall some day appear. 
My inmost soul assureth me full well, 
The reason in the Future's hold doth dwell. 



1 14 COSMOS. 



OMAH. 



' They who are born of the spirit climb to celestial heights 
where there is no time." 

A POEM ! What shall be my theme ? 
"^ That earth and sky and air do teem 

With joy and mirth ? That melody 
Of bird ere break of dawn is heard? 
That Nature, sparkling, full of glee, 
Exulteth that her queen is here — 
Her princess of the glad new year? 
And in its heart of hearts my day. 
Wherein I would not work but play ! 

In Old-Young mansion have we met 
To christen Psyche, child and pet. 
Ethereal offspring born of May — 
To send it on its mystic way. 
From Earth's fair Eden-time it sprung, 
The primal language, pristine tongue. 
The first faint lispings after speech 
Ere mankind fell or harm could reach 
That Paradise sought far and near 
By occultist, by poet, seer. 
By all aspirants who, in quest 
Of truth, have bravely borne the test. 



OMAH. 115 

If speech recovered, help restore 

Edenic bliss to Earth once more, 

Or serve us but as mystic sign 

Of unit, blending mine and thine 

In sweet fraternal fellowship — 

(Not only with the tongue and lip, 

But, joining thought to loving deed, 

Shall minister to others' need ;) — 

Well may we hail the Omah tongue 

As melody by angel sung, 

Announcing Peace ! from Heaven to Earth, 

By child of May of Psychic birth. 



ii6 COSMOS. 



PREFACE TO "THE SONNET." 

Sent to a Gifted Young Lady. 

nPHESE sonnetary guides, dear Edith R, 

■'■ Which your un-Oscar Wildeish stern papa 
Was pleased to think might be of use to you, 
I have transcribed. And now, you have the cue 
Of making fair Italia's flowing verse. 
Supposing (for you surely might do worse !) 
That you select a most aesthetic card. 
And write a sonnet to this Celtic bard. 
Print in the corner both his favorite flowers. 
Then talk of babbling brooks and shady bowers. 
That you are versatile, I always knew. 
And I have furnished theme and meter too — 
Now though the subject is both Wilde and queer, 
I trust your sonnet will ere long appear. 
It will reveal, as Oscar says to you, 
'* Poetic beauty " as it comes to few. 
Believe me, with best wishes, I remain, 
The household friend, a place I would retain. 



A SONNE T ON A SONNE T. 117 



A SONNET ON A SONNET. 

A A/"ITHIN the stately sonnet's dose confines. 
Of major-octave, and the less sestette, 

Most rigid requisitions must be met. 
Each part, united with great skill, combines 
lambic-pentemeter — fourteen lines. 

Nor is this lyric-stanza perfect yet, 

Until, at well-marked intervals, are set 
The stated rhymes that harmony assigns. 
The major part containeth only two. 

Wherein, without grammatic pause or break, 

The three-rhymed sestette's minor tones must 
flow. 
Thus, this symmetric structure, through and through. 
Is bound in chords, whose melodies oft wake 
Strange echoes in the soul, soft, sweet and low. 



Ii8 COSMOS. 



WORD PICTURE OF L. A. S 

QUAINT is she, quiet, 
Agile of limb, 
Kindly and careful, 

Dainty and trim. 
While of droll fantasies 

Full to the brim ; 
And though intense, yet 

Calm and most cool : 
One could not gauge her by 

Compass or rule. 
This is she, outwardly, 

Yet who may know 
What hidden tempests are 

Surging below ? 



TO A YOUNG FRIEND. 119 



TO A YOUNG FRIEND. 

QEEK continuity of thought, 

'^ Lest thy best gifts should come to naught ; 

Choose for thy friend, Persistency, 

To foil thy foe, Inconstancy ! 

Weigh well each scientific truth, 

Nor scorn the teachings of thy youth ; 

Be sceptical with Sin alone, 

And calm-eyed Faith do not disown. 

Self-conquered, thou shalt victor be, 

VVhate'er thy future destiny. 



120 COSMOS. 



AN ELKLAND RECOLLECTION. 

To C. W. K., August 30, 1887. 

T N framework of my thoughts of thee 

On this, thy anniversary, 
Is coral of the woods entwined, 
By nature's pencil interlined. 
'Tis gathered where in forest home 
The airy-fairy elfins roam — 
Mid forest leaves, which hide their tracks. 
Sleep they by day 'neath shaded banks, 
And hold at night wild revelry, 
Which mortal vision may not see. 
The picture sketched within the frame, 
Seemeth to echo but thy name. 
'Tis shaded deep with troubled thought. 
As though some rescuing hand were sought 
Is it a prey to sudden pain. 
Which to relieve is wholly vain ? 
A gesture makes it clear to me, 
A sting she bears from yonder bee ! 
The cruel fang is quickly drawn, 
No longer is the face forlorn ; 
Instinct with life and merriment, 
With gratitude and calm content. 



AJV ELKLAND RECOLLECTION. 

Hath pen of mine made it appear ; 
Tlie portrait, is it rendered clear ? 
Convey it then with memories past, 
And seek the future to forecast. 
It argues well, e'en though the way 
In shrouding mist conceals the day. 
Fair Summer veileth thus her tears, 
As swiftly her successor nears. 
Be not a mourner at her tomb. 
Though chilling days before thee loom ; 
The wintry winds should make us strong, 
To climb the ascending path along. 
Life is not all a summer day. 
Its glowing blossoms soon decay. 
Look on and up as seasons flee, 
Soul-life endures immortally. 



COSMOS. 



"MORTGAGED," 

To J. L. 

A SLAVE of the weather, 
Dear Colonel, are you ; 
Permit me sincerely 
Such bondage to rue. 

Unless you can conquer 

This servitude base, 
'Twere useless to count 

Upon seeing your face. 

This master holds Boreas 
At will, as you know, 

And may any moment 
Command him to blow. 

Your liberty's mortgaged 
Of course, if a slave ! 

Most truly, your case is 
Exceedingly grave. 



A GOLDEN-ROD GREETING. 123 



A GOLDEN-ROD GREETING. 

/^NE midsummer morn, 

^-^ As lonely, forlorn, 

I pondered the changes of life, 

Its turmoil, its strife. 

Two maidens appeared at my door. 

The picture will fade nevermore ! 

From field and from forest afar. 

Where the costliest earth-treasures are. 

Had they borne away glittering gold, 

Which before me in triumph they hold. 

Not Aaron's far-famed budding rod, 

Which bloomed at commandment of God, 

Bore clustering blossoms more fair 

Than those, these sweet maidens with care, 

Had formed into massive bouquet. 

To bring me that bright summer day. 

Blest vision of sunshiny youth, 

Of purity, innocence, truth — 

Nor changes, nor chances of life, 

Nor turmoil, distraction, or strife, 

The pleasure can ever destroy. 

Or mix with such gold, base alloy. 



124 COSMOS. 



HERITAGE OF BIRTH. 

To LiLLiE M. AND Mr. H. Congratulations ! 

"DE glad ! For ye are heirs of winsome May, 

The queen who breaks stern Winter's icy sway. 
And calls from out the silent earth sweet flowers, 
Baptizing them with vivifying showers. 

Bright month of promise, theme for poet's rhyme ! 
'Tis nature's blessed resurrection time; 
Wherein, awakened from her deathlike sleep, 
She comes, her vernal jubilee to keep. 

Accept profoundest homage, beauteous queen ! 
Resplendent art thou in thy robe of green, 
^nd diadem begemmed with sparkling dew. 
Drooped from heaven's canopy of matchless blue. 

We, too, owe life and being unto thee, 
And triumph in our royal pedigree; 
Rejoicing with all joyous things of earth. 
As we extol thy graciousness and worth. 



HERITAGE BY BIRTH. 125 

To follow closely in thy fairy wake, 
And of our heritage fruition make ; 
We also must refuse to bow the knee 
To frozen customs or harsh tyranny. 

Like thee, we would be strong, imperial, free, 
Refusing chilling winter's slaves to be ; 
And hold his life-destroying winds at bay, 
As with thy flowers we strew Life's rugged way. 

'Tis love that warmeth, quickeneth, and holds, 
Besides, celestial wisdom in its folds ; 
Then will we seek to germinate true thought, 
And prove existence not a thing of naught ; 

But gift divine, which, widening day by day. 
Shall dissipate delusive Error's sway, 
And teach us what each year more clear will show, • 
That life is but life's semblance here below. 



126 • COSMOS. 



OCTOBER NINETEENTH. 

To H. R. 

'T^^HE sun is shining on thy natal day, 

Scattering the shadows of the morning gray, 
Waking to life the insect world, and man, 
And beast. The autumn breezes lightly fan 
My brow, as thought essays to frame in words 
A birthday greeting, which, like song of birds. 
Shall fill the vacant space and reach thine ear, 
With hopes and wishes for another year. 
I hear a merry voice, a glad rebound 
Of light, elastic steps ; a cheering sound 
Of intant laughter, full of melody: 
Could I but waft this on the air to thee. 
All other joys would secondary be. 
'Tis vain for pen to paint the picture fair, 
So innocent, so pure, so free from care. 
Like veiled prophet doth the future stand, 
Holding the hour-glass of Life's ebbing sand ; 
Her secrets passing time shall render clear, 
As one by one the moments disappear. 
May coming years a ripened harvest field 
As rich return for faithful labor yield ! 



ANNIE IV. KOSENMULLER. 127 



ANNIE W. ROSENMULLER. 

Born on Maundy-Thursday. 

"T^EAR Maundy- Annie, dost thou know 

^^ The meaning of thy day 

Of birth? Why princes from their stores 

Were wont to give away 
In generous baskets* to the poor 
Always on Maundy-day ? 

Then let me tell you, darling, why : 

'Tis said our Savior gave, 
This day. His great command to love 

Our neighbor (ere the grave 
Received Him) even as ourselves. 
He who a world would save 
Such heavenly counsel gave ! 

Of deepest import is this day. 
My child. Then note it well, 

Nor fail to mark it by a gift 
Which shall some ill dispel. 

* A/and is the Saxon word for basket. 



128 COSMOS. 

May each recurring Easter-tide, 
Throughout life's future way, 

Find thee obeying the command 
Which consecrates thy day. 



DOROTHEA. 129 

DOROTHEA. 

Born July 27TH, 1890. 

T^ROM some far distant star or heavenly sphere, 

God-sent and all unsought it would appear, 
Wee Dorothea came one year ago 
To sojourn on this planet here below. 
A joy commingled with unceasing care 
Is she ; a strange creation, quaint as rare. 
Her sign is Leo, monarch of the heart ; 
Hence love of her existence is a part. 
She could not live without affection's dower ; 
It must be lavished freely hour by hour. 
A something beameth from her earnest eyes, 
Replete with wondering awe and dazed surprise. 
Mayhap that new-born soul at sorrow's shrine 
(Where human lives are shaped to form divine,) 
Hath long since bowed, and now returns to earth, 
To find at last its complement of mirth, 
And so, on this, her anniversary day. 
We wish throughout Life's future winding way, 
That flowers of brightest hue may bud and bloom, 
With gracious sunlight to disperse the gloom. 
May God His precious gift protect and bless, 
And crown her heir to health and happiness. 



'3° COSMOS. 



UNREAD. 
August 30, 1892. 



I 



N deepest recess of my heart 
Thy date of birth is set apart. 
Sore tempted am I then tonight 
A flowing poem to indite, 
With wishes many and sincere 
For this and every future year. 
One fear alone restrains my rhyme, 
Or I Parnassus straight would climb, 
And it is this : I fear, indeed. 
My last year's ode thou didst not read 



PR OSir NE U JAHR. 1 3 i 



PROSIT NEU JAHR. 

January 19TH, 1891. 

Q TILL snow-bound, dearest Will, I cannot span 
'^ The space between us, save to link the way 

With chain of warm, electric thought ! Thy day. 
Though set in heart of sturdy winter, can 
Reflect its sparkling snows; for lovelier than 

The vernal tints of wakening spring are they. 

The fleecy, falling flakes heaven's laws obey, 
And teach divinest wisdom unto man. 

Pause in thy work awhile ; yea ! it is best 

If Life's too rapid speed we may arrest ; 

For all about us is but shadowy 

Semblance of the real, which we see. 

With introverted sight, where silence reigns; 

And he who waits, the art of life attains. 



132 COSMOS. 



ANNIVERSARY WISH. 

September i8th. 

TV /f Y darling's natal day comes on apace ! 

•*• Would I might bridge the way between us by 

Device which could my longings satisfy, 
Assisting dreary distance to displace, 
And compensate for loss of his sweet face ! 
First I will let my winged wishes fly, 
Perchance returning winds will make reply. 
Were my desires fulfilled, all gifts of grace. 
Of wisdom, knowledge, happiness and love. 
Would then be his. I doubt not it is best 
That he is held awhile away from me. 
'Tis vain to penetrate below, above. 
To find the reason for affection's test. 

But God is good, who wills that it shall be. 



THIRTEEN. 133 



THIRTEEN. 

November 30. 

f~\ LITTLE one, bounding towards happy thirteen, 
^^ So fearlessly longing to grasp the unseen, 
May thy frail, slender bark bear thee out of thy teens, 
Fitly armed and equipped for Life's varying scenes. 
Seven magical years, it is well understood. 
Are known as the way-marks through fair maidenhood; 
And may the good fairies, but not the dread fates, 
Conduct thee through each of these wonderful gates ! 
Thou art entering the first with hope on thy brow ; 
I would thou might ever be joyous as now. 
May each year's advance, through this series of seven. 
Prepare thee for life and fit thee for heaven. 



134 COSMOS. 



HIS DAY. 

January Seventh. 

R. J. M. 

T T IS day hath come, but he himself is — where? 
-*■ Swift-sailing clouds, O surely ye must know, 

Who, never resting, ever onward go ? 
Fly on, but leave him to the sun's warm care, 
That this, his new-born year, be radiant, fair ; 

And may his guiding star that pathway show 

Wherein he shall to fullest stature grow, 
Unlured by turnings which the soul ensnare. 

For life is full of earnestness today, 

Onward but upward is the victor's way ! 

'Tis straight, and narrow, yea, with thorns beset, 

But never hero trod it with regret ; 

And lighted from above, 'tis crowned with joy. 

May angels guide therein my precious boy ! 



TO UL YSSES MERCUR. 135 



TO ULYSSES MERCUR. 

Who Had Attained the Quadrant of a 
Century. 

T^WO and a-half decades of precious time 

Thou hast o'er passed ! God's legacy of years, 
Ahiiost exempt, 'twould seem, from sorrow's tears. 
Thou lookest backward now on manhood's prime 
As one who, lingering, hears vibrating chime. 
But as another fresh decade appears, 
Advance with courage greater than thy fears, 
Nor hesitate the rocky steeps to climb. 
Life, lived today, is charged with weight of thought, 
Embodying aims with human weal inwrought. 
Make, then, thine own commensurate with those 
Who, watching, dare not sink in soft repose; 
For they who thus their highest call obey 
Shall wield the future with resistless sway. 



136 COSMOS. 



A MINNEQUA IDEAL. 

A COTTAGE on commanding hill 
'^*- My dream of ideal life doth fill. 
I left it with a longing sigh ; 
Let me essay to tell you why. 
'Twas not alone its quaint design, 
Its architecture rare and fine ; 
It was a subtle something more 
In recessed window, ceiling, fioor. 
The spirit of this restful place, 
Which permeates each inch of si)ace, 
And giveth rein to loftiest thought, 
Cannot in language be inwrought. 
I question whether tongue or pen 
Can frame our aspirations, when 
The soul is strongly moved ; the real, 
The unseen, how can the lips reveal? 
And though I did attempt to tell 
You why it holds this potent spell. 
Descriptive power doth baffie me. 
While words seem puerile rhapsody. 
Mayhap a more prosaic eye 
Could tell you better far than I ; 



A MINNEQUA IDEAL. 137 

Descant upon the massive books, 

Where Browning's life-like visage looks 

As lost in deep poetic maze, 

At sight of his immortal lays. 

Could he but turn that thoughtful head 

Where, just beyond, my steps were led, 

Methinks the scenes from Italy 

Would break his lengthened reverie, 

Recalling halcyon, sunny days, 

With her whose sonnets sung his praise. 

But poet-fancies by the score 

Could not have fashioned folding door 

In pattern of such dextrous skill 

As this, in cottage on the hill. 

It is a paragon of grace, 

Contrasting with areas of space, 

Where chimney-hearths hold glowing logs 

To dissipate midsummer fogs. 

Learned dissertations on the arts. 

Choice magazines, and goodly charts, 

Invitingly lay close at hand, 

With comic Pucks at one's command. 

Luxuriant divans bid you s,tay 

And give the soul a holiday. 

Now can you picture speaking face. 

Whose culture showeth not a trace 

Of pedantry (so often seen) ? 

You have of this abode the queen ! 



138 COSMOS. 

Her Lares and Penates are 
An only son, and she his star. 
What may he not, or do, or dare, 
In harbored home so bright and fair? 



ST. PATRICK'S PERPLEXITY. 139 



ST. PATRICK'S PERPLEXITY. 

A GERMAN proverb doth allege 
^^ That all good wishes which we pledge 
Must come within the pale of three, 
Joined in harmonic unity. 

This triple truth is clearer learned 
From what St. Patrick hath affirmed, 
Who strove so long, but all in vain, 
The triune doctrine to explain. 

The heathen people of the land 
This mystery could not understand. 
Pondering awhile in blank dismay. 
Despairing what to do or say, 

Behold ! low springing at his feet, 
He finds an illustration meet ; 
The explanation now is clear, 
And converts lend a willing ear. 



I40 COSMOS. 

Henceforth the simple shamrock ""' leaf 
Becomes an emblem of belief; 
It is the nation's mystic sign, 
Born of the earth, and yet divine ! 

* Trifolium repens ; trefoil or white clover. 



PEARL. 141 

PEARL. 

December 23D, 1890. 

" A SANTA CLAUS gift ! " one might almost say, 

^^*' Was little Pearl, who is seven today. 
Whatever her parents shall henceforth teach, 
The ancients aver, shall nevermore reach 
The needs of her soul. In the cycle gone by. 
The germ of all teaching, they tell us, doth lie. 
I'm wondering, Pearl, didst thou live long ago? 
Thy soul is too old for thy body, we know ; 
Perhaps, after all, what they say may be true, 
That thou hast returned to this planet anew. 
Most pearls are obtained from far-away lands. 
Discovered in hollows of old Ocean's sands; 
Yet captured at fearful and perilous cost. 
As many a diver his footing has lost. 
But thou, little Pearl, to have and to hold, 
Though shapen and fashioned in feminine mold, 
Art a jewel involving perpetual care, 
From thy fast-flying feet to thy long, flowing hair; 
For, like a young antelope, happy and free, 
Untrammeled thou speedest o'er woodland and lea, 
While nothing escapeth thy speaking blue eye. 
From favorite pussy to innocent fly. 
If another seven years of blessed childhood shall last. 
May they prove as propitious as those that are past. 



142 COSMOS. 



MALGRE NOUS. 

For an Album. 

/'"^F all compilations under the sun, 

^-^^ From which I'm instinctively tempted to run, 

There is none which fills me with so much alarm, 

While utterly lacking in sequence or charmy 

As the album wherein you're requested to write 

" Something original, pithy and bright." 

Its owner, you notice, can brook no delay : 

Return it at once ! they usually say, 

For others are waiting their quota to fill ; 

So what can you do, but answer, " I will " ? 

Yet, oh! how vexation is seething within, 

As, with sinister palm supporting the chin. 

Bereft of composure, ability, will, 

You struggle this forced requisition to fill. 

A poet must genius and leisure combine 

To hold with precision his metrical line ; 

E'en Tennyson's odes for " Occasions " fell short. 

These laureate efforts, though eagerly sought, 

Could not that perfection and smoothness attain, 

Which rendered so faultless his beauteous " Elaine.' 



MALGRE NOUS. 143 

And somewhere 'tis said of our own Edgar Poe, 
That long ere his " Bells " would melodiously go, 
He tuned and re-tuned them, yea, hundreds of times, 
Till the crystalline bells became rhythmical chimes. 
Then Longfellow often for years placed aside 
His exquisite stanzas, that time should decide 
If best to cremate them or send them to press ; 
On scholarly leisure he laid so much stress. 
But ever the album's diversified pages, 
Defying the protests of poets and sages. 
Have weakly effusions from mortals enlisted, 
Who, had they been wiser, would have desisted. 
The vapid expressions, the efforts at wit. 
The mixing of metaphors crude and unfit, 
The baitings and limpings of mismated feet. 
So certain the eye of the critic to meet, 
Are reasons t' would seem sufficiently strong 
To send them to hades, where they belong. 



144 COSMOS, 



ONE HUNDRED YEARS. 

Written for the Centennial Celebration in 
Stuttgart, July 4Th, 1876. 

T_r AIL, glorious day ! Our country's jubilee ! 

Wave ! Freedom's banner, wave ! 
Fly, heart and soul, transported o'er the main ; 
Join with the millions there the glad refrain. 

Like pilgrims from a distant height. 

So we, a loyal band, 
Look out to thee across the waste, 

Our own, our native land. 

Land ever nearest to our heart, 

Far from thy sheltering wing 
The sea of life has drifted us — 

Hear thou the song we sing ! 

All hail ! We send our greeting ! 

Today thou art of age. 
Turn a new leaf, Columbia, 

Upon thy history's page. 



ONE HUNDRED YEARS. 145 

Yet pause ! Behold the wondrous scheme, 

Before the ages planned, 
That blood of brethren being shed 

To purify the land, — 

Should wash away the sins of youth, 

And leave thy record clear. 
Making the blot on Freedom's flag 

Forever disappear. 

Bitter the cost — yet who shall dare 

His counsel to withstand. 
Who framed this spacious universe. 

And spanned it with His hand. 

Now shalt thou, with untrammeled strength, 

On eagle-pinions fly. 
Two mighty seas thy battlements. 

Thy dome, the glorious sky. 

Peerless, thy star victorious 

Attracts the nations' gaze ! 
They cluster round to offer thee 

The tribute of their praise. 

Bring forth the laurel, 

Weave in the bav ! 
Blest land of freedom, 

We crown thee today 



146 COSMOS. 

Praying that thou may'st older grow 

In purity and truth, 
We breathe one sigh, Cohimbia,^ 

Over thy vanished youth. 

On scholars, statesmen, patriots. 
We would a thought bestow ; 

Who bravely fought our battles 
A hundred years ago — 

Gave us this goodly heritage, 
And sealed it with their blood. 

Alas ! we cannot call them back 
Across the narrow flood ! 

They struck the blow for freedom first. 

Our civil war the last ; 
We are united once again, 

The bitterness is past. 

Peace be to them, where'er they fell, 
Who perished in the strife ; 

They clasp the hand of fellowship 
In the immortal life. 

Oh ! blessed eternal brotherhood, 

Inspire us that we may 
Each seek in heaven -born unity 

To vie with thee today. 



ONE HUNDRED YEARS. 147 

The city called from brother's love 

Has reared a common board, 
All gather there where once a Penn 

Proved " mightier than the sword." 

May those in ages yet to come, 

When we have passed away, 
Recount with pride this epoch of 

Their country's natal day. 

Hail, glorious day ! Long may the Union stand \ 

Wave ! Freedom's banner, wave ! 
Fly, heart and soul, transported o'er the main ; 
Join with the millions there the glad refrain ! 



DEVOTIONAL 



WHEN COMETH THE DAWN ? 151 



WHEN COMETH THE DAWN? 

nPHE world is waiting for thy coming, Lord, 
And while thou lingerest thy people, shorn 
Of glory and of triumph, sadly mourn ; 

For with their life-destroying, ruthless horde. 

Disease and dreaded famine stalk abroad. 

O watchman ! tell us, cometh soon the dawn ? 
The shadows deepen and we sit forlorn. 

Will Faith indeed receive its sure reward? 

From height of Zion's tower there came reply : 
" Ere long Redemption's work shall be complete. 
For God is love. The nations, I repeat, 

Are His. He heedeth well His people's cry ; 
As now in heaven, on earth His reign shall be 
Supreme, omnipotent, o'er land and sea." 



152 COSMOS. 



GREATLY BELOVED. 

'T^O be beloved, greatly beloved by Thee, 

O God, this, — this my soul would satisfy ! 

All other longings shall quiescent lie. 
As I such boon transcendent seek, to be 
Beloved, greatly beloved, my God, by Thee. 

Thus blessed, I should possess the " single eye "; 

None other must I worship, deify, 
Or else, how could I hope so loved to be. 

So greatly loved, O God, my God by Thee ? 
A single eye, then, hourly will I seek. 
And to obtain it I thy grace bespeak ; 
For lacking wisdom, thou the way wilt teach 
(Imparted not through man's imperfect speech) 

How I may be supremely loved by Thee ! 



TRUST. 153 



TRUST. 

'THRUST Thee ! Though all life's hopes thou slay, 

I'll trust, I'll love Thee, yea, alway, 
Through storm and sunshine, sickness, health, 
In direst poverty or wealth. 

To whom else, Jesus, can I flee ? 
There is no peace except in Thee ; 
All human help, like broken reed. 
Doth fail us in our greatest need. 

Looking to Thee from hour to hour. 
Endued with superhuman power, 
Mountains are leveled by the way 
As we fight on from day to day. 

Armed with the panoply of prayer, 
What may we not, or do, or dare? 
The worst that life can offer me 
Shall draw me closer unto Thee. 



154 COSMOS. 

As ocean to a shallow stream, 
Thine to all human love doth seem. 
Thy love alone can satisfy ; 
Possess me, Savior, or I die ! 

Encompassed, held by love divine, 
All things in heaven and earth are mine. 
What more can death do unto me. 
Than draw me closer unto Thee? 



OMNIPRESENCE. 1 5 5 



OMNIPRESENCE. 



/^MNIPOTENT, "I Am," to Thee I come, 
^-^ Who art of every good, the essence, sum ; 
Words fail my deep and dire distress to tell. 
Thou only canst these fears, these doubts dispel. 



As hart that panteth after cooling streams, 
So longs my thirsty soul for Thee ! In dreams 
She still cries out for Thee, day-spring of light. 
In whose dear presence there can be no night. 

Illuminate my path, most gracious Lord ; 
Let these mute lips be touched with sweet accord. 
To sound thy praise, O Prophet, Priest and King, 
Whose mighty power can full deliverance bring. 

Bid every rival to thy throne depart. 
For thou at least will not deceive this heart ; 
There is, transporting thought ! no change in Thee, 
And changeless love alone can comfort me. 



156 COSMOS. 



REFUGE. 

/^H tender heart of love divine, 

^^ I would henceforth be wholly thine ; 

My soul is tempest-tossed, oppressed, 

I seek thy peace, I crave thy rest. 

Blessed refuge in a weary land 
Of scorching winds and arid sand ; 
A hiding place forever sure ; 
No other shelter is secure ! 



TRIUNE POWER. 157 



TRIUNE POWER. 

T^OO long, my soul, hast thou ignobly bowed 
To Reason, cold, keen weapon of the proud 
Yet most invincible with Faith, which can 
To flame our highest aspirations fan. 

Let Faith with Reason then my speech entwine, 
To give me overflow of thoughts divine ; 
Grant that where'er I go, what'er I say, 
May to thy praise redound, O Lord, I pray. 

The vital current which shall animate. 
Direct, control and make me nobly great, 
I will unceasing draw from source above. 
That Faith and Reason be controlled by Love. 



• 58 COSMOS. 



MORNING ORISON. 

|\ /TINE eyes prevent the dawning light, 

(Which but reflects thine image bright) 
Thy glorious attributes to sing, 
Creator, Lord, my God and King ! 

More ready art thou to bestow, 
Than in our ignorance we know; 
Its parent darkness quickly flees 
When thy transcendent face it sees. 

For thou the source of wisdom art ; 
Of peace, which satisfies the heart, 
And joy, that sparkling fountain free, 
Dost dwell with those who rest in Thee. 

And thou art Love, Fear's panacea, 
Which cannot live when thou art near; 
While, as the greater holds the less. 
Faith followeth with Hope's caress. 



MORNING ORISON. 159 

All worthy thought is born of Thee. 
Transmuted let it glow in me, 
That deafened ears may hear my song, 
Proclamiing right, denouncing wrong. 

What'er my theme, or light, or grave, 
May it like pure electric wave. 
Deceitful errors under tow 
Restrain by Truth's resistless flow. 



i6o COSMOS. 



DESIRE. 



A CHALICE for thy spirit, Lord, 
Let this frail body be 
Like ^olian harp of sweet accord, 
Attuned to harmony. 

Blow winds of heaven and touch the strings, 

Till the melodious sound. 
Borne upward on celestial wings, 

Divine response have found. 

If I that gracious voice but hear. 

However dark the way ; 
Each cruel foe, each craven fear, 

In triumph I shall slay. 

I would no reservation make ; 

All I renunciate; 
Glad e'en to suffer for thy sake. 

If thou control my fate. 

Self, wholly lost in Deity 

And spirit, shaping soul. 
My vision must omniscient be, 
' And life a perfect whole. 



ELEASA — ELIDAD. i6i 



ELEASA — ELIDAD.* 

A H, yes ! My God as loving is as just. 

Who then can plead our cause as well as He, 
Who hath elected that the soul shall be, 
Inbreathing spirit, into lifeless dust? 
I will not say He may, but that he must 
Design (though testing) to deliver me. 
Whom he hath launched upon life's stormy sea. 
I yield Him therefore most implicit trust, 
While fully conscious of a reasoning mind, 
Directed, strengthened by the active brain. 
Yet do I place above all gifts the heart, 
(Whose labyrinths 'tis vain to find !) 

For in this realm, if God supremely reign. 
We learn to know that of Him we are part. 

* God created — God loved. 



i62 COSMOS. 



ADORATION. 

T ET me live, my love, to Thee, 
■*-^ Blessed, glorious Trinity ! 
God in One, O matchless Name, 
Changing, yet fore'er the same. 

Permeate each feeble sense ; 
Be my Fortress and Defense. 
Dwell within this house of clay ; 
I would serve Thee night and day. 

If Thou dost abide with me, 
Holy, holy, holy, Three, 
Darkness then must change to light ; 
AVhere thou art there is no night. 

Touch my soul with living fire, 
As I sound Love's hallowed lyre, 
That I may extol Thy praise 
In inspired, enraptured lays ! 

Triune God, mysterious Three, 
Omnipresent Unity ! 
I adore with heavenly host, 
Father, Son and Holy Ghost ! 



A CHILD'S PETITION. 16:; 



A CHILD'S PETITION. 

■P\EAR Lamb of God, to Thee I come, 

O listen to my prayer. 
And mind, soul, body, purify; 
I need thy tender care. 

I am unlearned and most unwise, 

But thou art Wisdom's head ; 
Finite am I, Thou infinite, 

I would by Thee be led. 

A pupil in thy school, O Christ, 

I needs must make advance, 
Till Truth, false teaching, shall displace, 

And light dark ignorance. 



1 64 COSMOS. 



CHRISTMAS. 

/^HRISTUS ! Anointed One ! King at thy birth ! 
^-^ Entwined be thy name with emblems of mirth. 
Bring the bright holly, the weird mistletoe ; 
With ivy — our gladness and reverence to show. 

Jehovah's new name, combining in one 
Infinite, Finite, Father and Son. 
Better than angels hath Jesus, the Way, 
Obtained a more excellent title than they. 

Mythology fabled the nation's Desire 

Through peace-breathing lute, and Promethian fire. 

Revealed to Isaiah in vision sublime ; 

He preached it before the fulness of time. 

Harken, O Nations, and listen, O Land, 
For you is a Prince and Deliverer at hand, 
Whose government gentle shall ever increase, 
A reign of love, purity, righteousness, peace. 

Heaven's King is your guest, receive him, O Earth ! 
Jesus the child of immaculate birth ! 
Son of a virgin, yet monarch most high — 
Hosanna ! hosanna ! exultingly cry ! 



CHRISTMAS. 165 

Rejoice, happy mother ; most blessed thou art, — 
Thy name among women dwells henceforth apart. 
Yea, magnify Him, thy Savior and Son, 
Whose rule, long expected, at last is begun 

Wake psaltery and harp ! sound cymbal and lyre,! 
'Tis the birthday of Him whom all hearts desire. 
Blow ye the trumpets, command to the feast 
Of Jesus Immanuel, our King and High Priest ! 



1 66 COSMOS. 



EASTER. 



"VT'E weeping ones, bereft, forlorn, 
He whom ye come to mourn, 
Hast'ning before the dawn, 
Needeth earth's ministering care no more ! 
Bear hence your ointments and your spices sweet, 
Though fused with love's intensest flame; those feet, 
That trod the v/ine-press of God's wrath alone 
For sins of mortals to atone. 
Repentant tears shall never wash again. 
He is not here ; your search is vain ; 
Upon that thorn-pierced head and wounded side, 
By king, priest, mocking soldiery reviled, 
Anointing oil shall never more be shed. 
Why seek the living, then, among the dead ? 
Behold, the heavy stone is rolled away. 
Rejoice, rejoice, Christ hath arisen to-day ! 



'Twas very meet that they 

Who did so much receive at Jesus' touch 

Should come, at break of day. 

To weep and pray. 



EASTER. 167 

But Mary Magdalene, 

Her many sins committed, 

All by her Lord remitted. 

Loved him the best. 

" This is of faith a further test," 

She cried ; '' but yesterday 

The Christ was crucified ! 

He must be there, they know it not; 

I will not leave this hallowed spot, 

For who can conquer Death? " 

Stooping with bated breath, 

The sepulchre she entereth. 

Lo ! where her Lord had lain 

She sees with wondering pain 

Two beauteous forms in snowy white, 

Irradiate with celestial light. 

" Woman, why weepest thou ? ' ' they say. 

" 'Tis that my Lord is ta'en away ! " 

Still sadly weeping, 

Her heart in anguish beating. 

Terror augmenteth her distress 

As from the tomb she issueth. 

And blinded by her burning tears, 

Knoweth him not who now appears. 

Thinking she to the gardner spoke, 

Ere from her trance of grief she woke. 

" Oh, tell me, sir, where didst thou lay 

My Lord ? for I must take him hence to-day ! " 



1 68 COSMOS. 

One word alone ; her name she hears : 
Stilled is her grief and hushed her fears. 
" Beloved voice ! 'Tis he ! 'Tishe! 
My precious Master, Rabboni ! " 

III. 

Blessed are those who thus believe, 

Who, seeing not, this voice perceive. 

It calleth each in turn, by name, 

And they who follow it shall shame 

And grief, yea, tribulation have — with strife 

But in the end, eternal life ! 



ASPIRATION. 169 



ASPIRATION. 

T N God's extended universe my place 

Is fixed. 'Tis not by human gauge or rule 
Defined, nor is it stationary school 

Wherein I learn my winding way to trace, 

Sustained and guided by omniscient grace. 
I would be, Lord, like unto polished tool, 
Clear cut, reflecting light divine. A fool 

If need be fear I not to seem, our race 

So fallen, unto Thee again to turn. 

For this my soul as smoldering flame doth burn. 

O omnipresent, uncreated God, 

Lift me, I pray, as by divining rod. 

To higher heights, where, nearer unto Thee, 

My will in unison with thine shall be ! 



17° COSMOS. 



QUESTION AND ANSWER. 



A BOVE the turmoil and the strife, 
Without surcease, 
Reigns holy peace. 
And love perfected is its life. 



Can it be drawn to realms below? 

I ask ray soul, 

Where grief-bells toll 
And poisoned weeds of discord grow. 

My soul made answer low and sweet : 

Self wholly lost, 

What'er the cost, 
Brings Peace a captive at thy feet. 



HIDDEN TREASURES. 171 



HIDDEN TREASURES. 



nnHY voice would I hear, O wisdom divine, 
-'■ To thy will alone can I subjugate mine ; 
Trutn, mingled with error, I everywhere see, 
Profoundest of thinkers, all, all, disagree. 

Encompassed with darkness. Thy guidance I need, 
The promise to seekers, this only I plead, 
More precious than rubies, more costly than gold, 
Thy treasures, I pray Thee, no longer withhold. 

Endue me with prudence, discernment of mind, 
With justice and mercy, with love to my kind ; 
With tireless devotion to Truth unalloyed. 
Hypocrisy, bigotry, help me avoid. 

The sirens of earth have ceased to delight, 
Henceforth do I banish them far from my sight ; 
Thy ways, they are pleasant. Thy paths, they are peace; 
From folly and ignorance grant me release. 

Directed by Thee, naught have I to fear; 
Though mountains of danger to daunt me appear. 
Like mist shall they fade in the rays of thy Light, 
Or I shall surmount them, sustained by thy Might. 



172 COSMOS. 

"ORA PRO NOBIS." 
" 'Tis nightfall on the sea." 

T ORD of the tempest, I come unto thee ; 

Tossed on the ocean, beloved ones there be. 

Wild waves are dashing, 

Lightnings are flashing, 
Ave sanctissima, look upon me. 

God of our fathers, who holdeth like sand 
E'en the wild waters in thy mighty hand ; 

Humbly appealing. 

Low we are kneeling. 
Guard our beloved ones and bring them to land. 

Sacred Head wounded, O Jesus we -plead; 
Listen in mercy — sore, sore is our need. 

Hear the hearts' sighing, 

Thou who once dying. 
Intercedes for us — Help Lord, we believe. 

Depths stir within us, like billows that roll ; 
Wild waves of anguish encompass the soul — 

Dark, darkly groping, 

Faithlessly moaning. 
Storm clouds and darkness our being infold. 



" OR A PRO NOBIS. - 173 

Type of my restlessness, unquiet sea, 
Be not, I pray thee, unfaithful to me — 

False to thy keeping, 

Hopelessly weeping. 
Happiness never again should I see. 

Earth's weary children are sad, sore oppressed; 
Rock them to sleep on thy billowy breast, 

Bid the storm, dying, 

Cease its defying, 
Sing them soft lullabies, woo them to rest. 

Calm are the waters, and peaceful the skies ; 

The storm clouds have fled, the wind gently sighs, 

Cease, cease my sorrow. 

Doubt not to-morrow 
That sunshine again for thee will arise. 



THRENETIC SONGS 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN. . 177 



ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

1809- 1861 - 1865. 

ONCE seer and sage propelled our " Ship of 
State"; 
A peoples' man, almost uncouthly made, 
, Who recognized his kind of every grade 
And sphere because he luas so nobly great. 
For letting speech he labored early, late ; 
Ere long his sacrifices were repaid 
In logic power, which giant weapons staid, 
While in the balance hung a nation's fate. 
With heaven-born wisdom steered he at the helm 
Until his work was done. God-chosen, he 

Was then removed, and though by coward hand 
Transferred from earth, in higher, holier realm. 
Doubt not, he prays for ship of state at sea, 
And for the helmsman in supreme command. 



178 COS A/OS. 



GARFIELD. 

September 8th, i88i. 

" I "HE arid air broods sullen, motionless, 
■*• O'er land and sea, like solemn augury 
Of some impending fate ! On bended knee, 
A nation wrung with vengeful bitterness 
Travails the while in deep and dire distress. 
Bowed down in dust, dethroned Liberty 
(Ah, woeful day, when we such sight must see !) 
Is supplicating Heaven to raise and bless 
Her martyred head by murderous hand laid low. 
What wonder that indignant clouds their rain 
Withhold ! Sorrow like this finds no relief 
In tears. With bated breath we wait to know 
The issue of the unequal strife. Shall gain 
Be Death's, or Life restore to us our chief? 



CALAMITY. 179 



CALAMITY. 

September 19TH, 1881. 

T'^HE grasses are dying ; 

Skies crimsoned o'erhead ; 
The fall leaves are flying 

In drapery of red ; 
The sunsets are scarlet ; 

The moon is on fire ; 
All nature proclaiming 

Calamity dire. 



My strain is a requiem, 

A nation's deep dirge, 
Pathetic and solemn, 

Of death-bearing scourge 
By coward assassin ! 

Of hero who vain 
"Fought death step by step in 

Death's own domain ! 



1 80 COSMOS. 

What wonder creation, 

Amazed at the sight, 
Is thrown in commotion — 

Day turning to night ; 
That planet and comet 

Are lurid with wrath, 
While heart-broken autumn 

Drops blood in her path? 



Bright golden-rod, droaping 

Its feathery plume, 
Seems silently shrouding 

Its petals in gloom ; 
As though it were seeking 

Its sorrow to screen, 
By hiding in calyx 

Of sad-tinted ereen. 



O grief stricken autumn ! 

Whose glory hath fled, 
We weep on thy bosom, 

Bewailing our dead. 
Love's every endeavor, 

Skill, prayer, we're in vain,* 
He needeth them never, 

Ah ! never again. 



CALAMITY. ij>i 

Beloved ones are weeping, 

Lamenting their loss; 
A nation in mourning 

Is bearing the cross. 
What man, tribe or nation, 

What kingdom or state, 
May forestall or frustrate 

The fiats of fate? 



1 82 COSMOS. 



GRANT'S LAST BATTLE. 

July 23D, 1885. 

/^F honor, fame, the highest summits scaled, 
^^^ Rides dauntless, undismayed, a warrior bold 
To meet in mortal strife one who doth hold 
The vantage ground 'twixt earth and heaven. Un- 

quailed, 
He treads that shadowy land, by Death assailed, 
Who, hurling poisoned shafts, seeks to enfold 
His daring prey in grim embraces cold. 
'Gainst other odds his courage had prevailed. 
Weird sight ! The world beholds with wondering awe 
Him who e'en on the Conqueror's line thus fights 
To keep this foe invincible at bay. 
And now, toward fields Elysian swift withdraw 
Yon mystic legions from aerial heights ; 
They bear a hero-soul from earth today ! 



DR. HOLLAND'S THRENODY. iS^ 



CLOSING LINES OF DR. HOLLAND'S 
THRENODY. 

/^H sighing, solemn sound of sad lament ; 
^-^ Most strange, prophetic, tearful Threnody ! 

How '' Bitter-Sweet " the mournful melody 
Of this poor singer's dying song ! Silent 
Forever are his earth-born strains, and rent 

Are loving hearts because of him whom we 

Shall know no more ! Oh friend, beyond the sea 
Of Death, tell us, we pray, is " sweet the scent 
Of Sharon's Rose "? Doth " Life awake to cease 

Indeed no more upon that distant shore "? 

He answereth not. Vain, vain, is our appeal I 
And each in turn must wait his own release. 

Ere he shall know if that veiled Evermore 

For him the phantom flower of peace conceal. 



1 84 COS A/ OS. 

KEATS. 

1795 -1S20. 

O world, where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes 

— 0</e to the Nightingale . 

A thing of beauty is a joy forever. — Etidyniicm. 

"pOOR Keats! In one breath, "Beauty cannot 

■^ keep 

Her lustrous eyes," for sorrow slie must weep ! 

And in another, Beauty's permanence 

Becoines the theme, steeping his every sense. 

All human life this story doth repeat ; 

In every heart sunshine and shadows meet. 

The firmament, Nature herself, doth tell 

A two-fold tale ; and while we mortals dwell 

On earth, we find no lasting joy. The flower 

Whose dazzling hue, endued with magic power 

To charm the eye, loses its lustrous tint — 

Yet on the plastic soul leaves an imprint, 

A memory sweet, which never shall depart. 

Let us then seek to fill the eye and heart 

With images of peace and purity, 

For these shall live throughout eternity. 



THE HERO OF KHARTOUM. 



THE HERO OF KHARTOUM. 

PNCHANTED pen alone, oh.! hero-saint, 

"^ Thy legendary feats could hope to paint. 

As weird as those of Arthur's knights they are, 

And wild as poet wove round Ingomar. 

Gregarious souls in human mold could not 

Thy eagle flight, thy solitary lor 

Pursue ; or comprehend the impelling force 

Which shaped that restless and cyclonic course, 

Inciting thee to those Titanic deeds. 

Achieved for civic or barbaric needs. 

Thy life, sustained as by some magic art, 

Appeared securely guarded, set apart ! 

That harm could compass thee, or cruel fate 

Presume to track thy path, and vengeful wait 

In lonely lair, forestalling swift relief, 

Seems irony surpassing all belief! 

Was there no rescuing hand by sea or main. 

No patriot able to avert this stain ? 

Where were thy boasted fleets, proud England, say, 

Thy armies, that they lingered on the way ? 

Had they betimes heeded that urgent cry 

For help, the Mahdi's legions to defy, 



1 86 COSMOS. 

Humanity had had her hero yet. 

Though master of the foe's most subtle art, 

As paralyzed, he could not act his part ; 

Pasha, but prisoner, chained unto his post ; 

An heir to freedom, prizing honor most, 

He fell a victim to his love of right. 

The world has never witnessed nobler signc i 



THE LONG FAREWELL. 187 



THE LONG FAREWELL. 

To Rev. Charles McIlvaine, of Christ Church, Towanda, 
whose parting gift before we left for Germany was a bouquet 
of flowers. 

IV/r Y soul is sad tonight, for tidings dread 

Have come to us, that one we love is dead. 
Would God it were a dream ! And can it be 
That we thy kindly face no more shall see? 

That with the fragrant flowers thou lov'dst so well, 
Thou, too, hast passed, no more on earth to dwell ? 
Thy farewell words are ringing in my ear, 
Like solemn knell, or sound of requiem drear. 

" Until we next shall meet, the hope that so 
Along thy path the choicest flowers may grow." 
So like sweet music fell that parting grace, 
I could not then a direr import trace. 

It came with loveliest flowers, surpassing fair, 
Each bud and blossom children of thy care. 
Like harbinger of hope they seemed to be, 
Brightening our thought of home, and friends, and 
thee. 



1 88 COSMOS. 

" Until we next shall meet ! " Unmeasured space ! 
How far hast thou outstripped us in the race. 
For thee the victory's won, the conflict's o'er, 
The trembling clay shall clog thy soul no more. 

Ah, yes ! We'll meet upon the other shore,- 
But by a wider ocean than before ; 
And where Life's mysteries may seem more clear 
Than to our earth-bound vision they appear. 

Ye sorrovving ones, through his eternal gain, 
To you have come the anguish, grief and pain. 
Soon faith to sight will the beloved restore ; 
He is not lost, but only gone before. 



THE MESSENGER. 189 



THE MESSENGER. 

To A BELOVED PHYSICIAN who, shortly after taking tea with his 
family, was found in his study peacefully sleeping his last 
sleep. 

T CANNOT say that what I saw 
-*■ Might not have been a dream, 
Yet surely he that came to me 
Of flesh and blood did seem. 



"Mourn not," he said, " for happy souls 
Beyond earth's bounded sphere; 

Clear as the sun are glorious truths 
Enveiled in mystery here. 

" If I might unto you impart 
This wondrous heavenly lore, 

The exit you would joy to make 
For yon celestial shore." 

Spell-bound, I feared the vision strange 

Might vanish out of sight, 
And thus I cried, " Beloved friend, 

To us it still is night. 



190 COSMOS. 

" How comes the day ? How didst thou cross 

That dark and narrow sea ? 
Did fiercest billows o'er thee rage? 

Say, was it well with thee ? 

Most radiant was his look, and this 

The comforting reply : 
" Death sent his brother, Sleep, to me; 

My friend, I did not die ! 

" He wafted me across the sea 

Into the portals blest ; 
I waked to find my restlessness 

Encompassed by God's rest." 

The day star rose in splendor rare, 

With it the vision fled ; 
I felt as one beatified 

From converse with the dead. 



TRIBUTE TO E. O. GOODRICH. 191 



TRIBUTE TO E. O. GOODRICH, 

For many years editor of The Towanda Reporter. 

A XD shall the places which so long have seen 
That welcome face, see it no more ? This friend, 
So kind and true, who yesterday did wend 
His way with ours ? Who, placid, calm of mien, 
Uniting judgment rare to insight keen, 
Did with such able pen the right defend. 
While well-weighed thought with fitting speech did 
blend ? 
Today, passed from our view, no longer seen, 
This friend is not — nor maketh he reply, 
Sees not our tears, hears not Love's anguished cry. 
We know no more ; know only this : Life's brief 
Epitome for each is Death, and Grief 
Its heritage. Is this, then, all? " Here lies ! " 
Resurget ! cries my soul ; he will arise. 



192 COSMOS. 



'' THE CHILD IS NOT! " 

To THE Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Jones, whose only daughter, 
six years of age, died suddenly of scarlet fever while visiting 
with her parents in Towanda. 

" I ^HE child beloved is not, O friends ! 

Not here, but there ; 
Forever freed from sin and pain, 
From want and care. 



The many-mansioned home is hers. 

Dear home of peace ! 
Why call that death which to the soul 

Gives blest release ? 

This precious child hath led the way. 

Radiant and fair ; 
Ye would not call her back, I know, 

So safely there. 

Safe in the arms of love divine, 

No more to roam ; 
Christ said : " Of such the kingdom is" 

He called her home ! 



PEACE. 193 



PEACE. 

To J. L., who died very suddenly of neuralgia of the heart, 
on Sunday, February 6th, at his father's residence in Asylum. 

TDEACE, disembodied soul, so swiftly fled ! 

•^ Not thou but this, thy semblance, call we dead — 

While weeping ones surround the sable bier, 

And sorrowing, sympathizing friends draw near. 

In manhood's richest prime, thy mortal race, 
Though scarce begun, is stayed. That peaceful face 
Is shrined in Death's majestic, marble calm ! 
Earth's conflicts nevermore shall do thee harm. 

Freed from the flesh, life never-ending thine. 

For thee 't were worse than folly to repine ! 

For crushed and bleeding hearts we needs must grieve ; 

Yet, One alone can loss like this retrieve. 

•• The Man of Sorrows " saith : " Come unto Me "; 

Near Him, Life's weightiest woes shall lightened be. 



194 COSMOS. 



^'AT EVENTIDE IT SHALL BE LIGHT." 

To Mary Overton Macfarlane, who entered into life 
April 21, 1888. Mrs. Macfarlane's colonial ancestor was 
George Clymer, one of the memorable fifty-six signers of our 
American Declaration of Independence. Benjamin Franlslin, 
who boasted of being a printer, yet was a statesman and 
philosopher, was the oldest signer, and Edward Rutledge the 
youngest. 

C OUL answereth to soul, " She is not dead ! " 
^ The eventide of heaven's perennial sun 

Is death, and so true life is but begun. 

And yet what bitter tears of grief are shed 

For one of whom we say, '' She is not dead " — 

Yea, over Time hath glorious victory won, 

The conflict past, the wearying labor done ! 

What more exultant truth were ever said ? 

But friend, dear friend, the human cries for thee ; 
How can- we in thy loss rejoice? Thy place, 
For us, will nevermore be filled. We miss 
The loyal love, the kindly smile. To see 
Again what was and still is thee, that face 
Illumined so with soul, indeed were bliss ! 



ASLEEP. 195 



ASLEEP. 

To Marcia a. Turner, who fell asleep June i6th, 1890. 

O HE sleepeth ! Softly tread, and tenderly ! 
Yet will she waken nevermore where pain 
And lassitude the spirit doth enchain. 
Angels have wafted her across the sea 
Of Death, unto that dreamless shore where she 
Shall know all mysteries, and glorious gain 
All loss shall recompense. Here Love doth reign 
Supreme, in heaven -perfected harmony. 

O mystic country, nearing day by day, 
Thou art, in seeming only, far away ! 

For onward, ever onward, are we borne 
By billowy wave, and swifter swelling tide, 
Over Life's ocean to that other side. 

Where darkness disappears in endless dawn. 



196 COSMOS. 



CHARITIES. 

Mrs. Clotilda Dittrich. 

" ^17" HOSE works do follow them!" Of that 
* blessed throng 

Is she of whom I write ; who, day by day, 

(Till angel-guard conveyed her soul away 
To land of sunshine and triumphant song,) 
Uphold most nobly, right against the wrong. 

With ceaseless charities she paved Life's way ; 

To note the tithe I would not dare essay. 
Of gentle nature, and withal most strong, 
Transparent, calm, unwarped by Fashion's sway, 
T'were hard to find her counterpart today. 
A friend of books, a lover, too, of art, 
Uniting mind with sympathizing heart — 
It is as vain such qualities to trace 
As for the poor to fill her vacant place; 



KNOWLEDGE. 197 



KNOWLEDGE. 

In memory of Mrs. Harriet B. Mercur, who died on 
Wednesday, February 19th, 1890. 

" What we know not now, we shall know hereafter."* 

" I "ELL us, dost thou already know, dear heart, 
■^ Thou who hast passed that mystic bourne from 
whence 
Is no return ? We, in our ignorance, 
Crave light of thee, who now no longer art 
A prey to Death's malign, destructive dart ! 
For life of toil, is it not recompense 
To claim as refuge and assured defense 
Jehovah's everlasting hills? Impart 
To us who linger yet in earth-bound vale 

The how, the why ! When shall perfected day 
Exclude the night, and powers of darkness end ? 
We wait expectant (finite efforts fail !) 

The advent of our King, whose royal sway 

Shall earth redeemed with heaven's dominions 
blend. 

"* Her favorite quolaticn. 



igS COSMOS. 



"ANOTHER DAY." 

A PARTING reminiscence of Mrs. Frank Carter Swartz. On 
my way to Christ Church, of which, for some years, she was 
organist, she stopped me, offering to gather some June roses 
if I would wait. 

T KNEW not that her proffered gift of flowers, 
So lovingly vouchsafed, was her " farewell" 
To me, else had I lingered. Now, as knell 

Upon my ear, with grief which loss empowers, 

Do I recall her words. Mid hastening hours 
Of sunny June, the kindly accents fell : 
" Come, then, another day ; I see full well 

You cannot wait, but you shall have the flowers ! " 
And though with keen regret each pulse is stirred. 
Yet doubt I not that she will keep her word ; 

But I must wait awhile until we meet 

Where partings are no more ; where angel-hand 

Will pluck for me undying blossoms sweet, 
From fragrant fields of that celestial land. 



THE JO URNE V HOME. 1 99 



THE JOURNEY HOME. 
Lizzie O. Macfarlane. 

ORE came to see her home and loved ones here, 
^^ Not knowing that the resting-place was there 

Where hills celestial, ever green and fair 
From valley shadowed o'er by death, appear. 
So far doth seem this home, while yet so near ; 
Shut from the eye by veil of sense we dare 
Not lift, till, parted, we are made aware 
That some beloved form hath entered there ! 
Be comforted, oh, mourning hearts ! For swift 
As weaver's shuttle doth revolving time 

Connect our thread of life with that blest land ! 
Another and another sudden rift, 

And all in turn those beauteous hills shall climb, 
Which re-unite each grief-rent household band. 



COSMOS. 



AN ONLY SON. 

Died at Denver, Colorado, May 4th, 1891, William Weight- 
man Walker, only son of R. J. Walker, of Philadelphia. 

AN" only son ! " Can sympathy avail 

When hearts are thus bereft ? I may not know, 
Or why grief is our heritage below, 
Or why with good the evil doth prevail. 
God knoweth, and His love can never fail ! 
He sacrificed His only Son to show 
To what perfection mortal man may grow 
Through sorrow, which doth each in turn assail. 
The while, there falls a voice which comfort gives ; 
It whispers, oh, my friends : " Thy son still lives ! 
That spark divine, the soul, shall never die ! " 
Can ye not, then, the cruel grave defy ? 
The heart of spring but hideth from your eyes 
That life which, in perfected form, shall rise. 



THE HEAVE NL V CALL LING. 



THE HEAVENLY CALLING. 

To Mr. and Mrs. E. W. Elwell. 

'T^WO angel guides, released from flesh and sense, 
-*■ Are waiting, friends, to point the ascending way 
Which leadeth unto perfect, cloudless day. 
Their glorious mission is to bear you hence 
Unto that land of pure delight, from whence 

Are banished sorrow and distress for aye. 

This heavenly calling they must needs obey, 
That loss may garner double recompense ; 

And doubly blessed shall such reunion be. 

Yea, everlasting as eternity ! 
The Father lent awhile His gifts so fair, 
Which ye did nurture with love's tenderest care. 
Love's labor cannot then be lost, dear friends. 
As ye shall know when seen and unseen blends. 



COSMOS. 



JUST BEGUN. 

Frances Theresa Powell, January 29TH, 1892. 

A PURE life ended, did I say ? Ah, no ! 
''Tis only just begun ! Distress and pain 
Shall nevermore hold in their galling chain 
This spotless soul. While tears of anguish flow. 
Thank God, dear friends, her place was not below ! 
For her, at least, 'tis everlasting gain ; 
She hath but joined the angel band again. 
Shall not this thought some recompense bestow, 
At loss of her sweet face? What loving deeds, 
What charities above all formal creeds 
Were hers. Time's rapid stream shall soon submerge 
Us all within that sure, resistless surge — 
The ocean of eternity ! We wait 
In turn (earth pilgrims) this decree of fate. 



SORROW. 203 



SORROW 
To Mrs. T— 



A SWEET, sad face, too young for sorrow's trace. 
Gazed at my own, as musingly I stood 
One Sunday morning in devotion's mood. 
" Alas ! " I pondered, " must our human race, 
Without exception, fill the mourner's place ? 
Be lacerated by affliction's brood 
Of sickness, anguish, pain and death ? Why should 
This lovely soul, endowed, 'twould seem, with grace. 
From birth the via dolorosa tread, 
When flowers along her path should bloom instead ? ' ' 
To my inquiries gave the still small voice 
Reply : " The Man of Sorrows had His choice 
To suffer and be strong ; and sorrow's way 
Doth lead at last unto unending day." 



204 COSMOS. 



LAW FULFILLED. 

To Mrs. Anna M and Hattie. 

A ^7" HEN souls, released from bonds of flesh and 
sense, 
Are hidden thus from our material eyes, 
Beholding, we should see with glad surprise, 
(No longer burdened by prolonged suspense) 
The why and wherefore of their exit thence. 
Repressing, then, affection's saddening sighs, 
Behold the Future's ever brightening skies, 
Whose reflex makes the vision clear, intense ! 
And sweeter than the sweetest song of bird, 
We hear His gracious voice, who is the Word : 
" And I, if I be lifted up, will draw 
All men to me ! " 'Tis Love fulfilling Law ! 
Faith, then, transcendeth sight. Dear hearts, it must 
Be well with him, and God enjoineth trust. 



AN EXCHANGE.- 205 



AN EXCHANGE. 

At Eldredville, on Friday, February 12th, 1892, William M. 
"White, aged 25. Leaving home full of life and vigor, he was 
killed instantly ; caught in the cruel embrace of a rolling log. 

WITHOUT a word of warning came the call ! 
From out the realms of Time so swift he sped, 
We ask with bated breath, " Can he be dead ?' ' 
So still he lies, while tears of anguish fall 
Upon that lifeless form, beloved of all ; 
A victim, it would seem, to slaughter led, 
With crown of glowing manhood on his head. 
But, weeping friends, the wormwood and the gall 
Are yours alone. The cup is full ! Yet he, 
From earthly toil and care forever free, 
Hath, in exchanging worlds, obtained great gain ; 
Surely this thought must mitigate Love's pain ! 
. Then launch the life-boat — head it for that shore. 
Where parting pangs are suffered nevermore. 



2o6 COSMOS. 



GAIN. 

In memory of Jesse Collins, who died October 7th, 1892, 
shortly before attaining his 2 1st year. 

T T E died, who is not dead ! Yet doth he sleep 
The sleep that knows no waking here below ; 
While loving hearts, o'erwhelmed with grief and 
woe, 
Prostrate at Sorrow's shrine, sad vigils keep, 
As sense of loss through heart and memory sweep. 
Too young to die ! Yet could we only know 
The Father's purpose, who hath dealt the blow. 
Ye would rejoice, oh ! friends, and cease to weep. 
He liveth, yea, for aye, whom ye call dead ! 

He hath but left this shadowy vale of tears, 
Encompassed by distress and sickness dread. 
For mountain heights of everlasting day. 
Where flowers of promise bloom along the way, 
And life no more is spanned by flight of years. 



MY TALISMAN. 207 



MY TALISMAN. 



Presented by Mrs. William S. Foster, of Pittsburgh. Her 
death occurred a few months after. 



I T PON my hand, nearest the heart allied, 
^-^ A ring has been bestowed as sacred sign 
Of love, enduring, deathless and divine, 
By patient suffering strengthened, glorified. 
Which shall throughout eternity abide. 
The jewels that my talisman entwine, 
(Diana's gems) pure, clear, resplendent shine ; 
Love thus embodies Faith and Hope beside. 
Bright circlet, symbolizing joy and peace, 
God bless the giver, granting her release 
From wearing pain ! May buoyant Hope appear, 
To banish dark despondency and fear; 
May trusting Faith be crowned by sight, 
Which shall dispel for aye the shades of night. 



2o8 COSMOS. 



A LOST JONATHAN. 

/^^H loyal, loving heart ! Thy brother gone, 
^-^^ Earth has no more a resting place for thee ! 

I marvel at thy forceful bravery, 
Which holds thee faithful at thy post, while shorn 
Of that which leaves thee comfortless, forlorn. 
With others' woes absorbed, thou still canst be 
Friend, helper, teacher, guide ; and unto me 
An inspiration thou hast been. New-born, 
My soul ascends to heights before unknown. 
From whence I see that they, who left alone 
To tread Life's wine-press to the bitter lees. 
Are sure to win its noblest victories. 
While most compassionate to human need. 
They lift the world from selfishness and greed. 



FOR THY SAKE, 209 



FOR THY SAKE. 

'T^HAT thou mayst follow, mother-heart, hath she, 
Who loved the sunshine so, been called away 
Where nevermore shall sullen skies of gray 
Her radiant, heaven-illumined vision see. 
Like joyous bird that flits from tree to tree, 
Her nature was, or like some airy fay 
Who could nor brook, nor bear coersive sway ; 
Her most exigent need was to be free ! 
Oh, blessed child ! our souls cry out to hold 

And keep thee fast. Naught can such gift replace. 
So dear to father, mother, sisters, friends ; 
All graces now thou seemest to enfold. 

How can we live without that speaking face ? 
Yet He who loves us best this sorrow sends. 



COSMOS. 



ILLUMINED. 

To the friends of Anne Reeve Aldrich. Her last poem, 
" Death at Daybreak," contains these touching hnes : 

I shall go out when the light comes in ; 

Would I might take one ray with me ; 
It is blackest night between the worlds, 

And how is a soul to see ? 

— From Songs About Life, Love and Death. 

HP HE incoming dawn met an outgoing soul, 

■*■ Released from the fetters of earth-pinioned clay, 
Who was seeking a pathway through space to that 
world 
Where the inmates delight in perpetual day. 

So the dawn lent her ray, which scattered the mist, 
Dispersing the darkness that shadowed the way, 

And the path was illumined to soul craving light. 
Who will nevermore suffer from " blackest of 
nieht." 



BISHOP BROOKS. 



BISHOP BROOKS. 

1835 -1891 -1893. 

r~^ OD'S universal church is bowed today 

^-^ In speechless grief ! A mighty soul, and strong, 

That doth to all humanity belong, 
Is taken hence — borne from our midst away. 
Beloved was he, through Love's persuasive sway ; 
" No one can take his place," the awe-struck throng 
Repeat. A friend to right, a foe to wrong, 
His presence warmed as brightest sunlight's ray. 
The bishopric another shall assume ; 

The void in myriad hearts can ne'er be filled ; 
Such royal souls as his are all too rare : 
This pygmy earth gave him not breathing room. 
And though the world so needed him, God willed 
That he its sorrows should no longer bear. 



COSMOS. 



"UNCLE SAM." 

"Uncle Sam" was a fugitive slave who, unable to read or 
write, could quote fluently from th Bible, and in his last illness 
was constantly asking to hear about the city whose gates of 
solid pearl were never closed. 

A SOUL, by suffering made pure, is free ! 
^^ Escaped from out its ebon house of clay, 

It speeds on joyful wing from earth away, 
In search of city found beyond Death's sea. 
Long seen by faith with child-like ecstasy. 
Here Love and Wisdom hold perpetual sway 
And night is banished by eternal day ; 
On every side the gates of pearl are three, 
And these are never closed, but opened wide -, 
To none an entrance free is e'er denied. 
For of one blood God made this human race, 
And each at last shall find his destined place; 
All nations of the world may enter here, 
Where earth-made differences will disappear. 



CRUSADERS OF'di. 



CRUSADERS OF '6i. 

WJ E cover the graves of our heroes today 

* ^ With the redolent blossoms of sunshiny May ; 
The fragrance is borne through the tremulous air, 
Ascending, like incense, to regions more fair — 
Beyond, where brave comrades in countless array 
Are watching the vigils of this hallowed day. 

Methinks mid the cloud-rifts their forms I descry. 

With the banner of unity lifted on high; 

Its glittering stars o'er the blue and the gray. 

Are shining alike in victorious sway ! 

And they are exulting, these heroes above, 

That at length our bold ensign speaks brotherly love. 

Though the cannon still belches, with thunderous roar. 
Its flashes of lightning breathe carnage no more; 
For the rainbow of peace spans the "bloody abyss," 
And the issue is healed by Fraternity's kiss. 
Their camp-fires today are effulgent with light. 
Displacing the gloom of War's horrible night ; 
They are fed by the flames of yon planets, I know. 
Earth-fires never kindled such marvelous glow. 



214 



COSMOS. 



Our Chiefs that were martyred, with those in 

command, 
Whatever their uniform, clasp hand with hand, 
Rejoicing that He who directed the fight 
Conducted the combat for justice and right. 
One standeth among them, their prophet and peer, 
With face of a saint and look of a seer, 
No longer he weareth a thorn-pierced crown. 
But diadem regal ! Our hero, John Brown ! 

He planted the germ of fair Liberty's tree. 

And swore that from slavery our land should be free ; 

He gave up his life to rescue the slave. 

Home, children, friends, substance, his country to 

save. 
With courage unheard of, he dared to withstand 
A nation's repulse with one paltry band. 
How great his reward in that land of the blest ; 
■" God's truth marches on ! " John Brown is at rest. 

Each year swells the ranks of those triumphing braves ; 
Today have we bowed before newly-made graves, 
Whose garlands are twined with the cypress and yew, 
With roses, forget-me-nots, pansies and rue. 
All human oblations are mixed with alloy. 
Compounded of sorrow, while sweetened with joy. 
Your laurels, brave victors, forever are green, 
Though dwellers in regions by mortals unseen ; 
'Tis the tenement only that prostrate doth lie, 
Man's spirit endureth, yea, liveth for aye ! 



CRUSADERS OF'bi. 215 

Are ye noting, freed spirits, the signs of the times ? 
Can ye witness earth's chaos from yon distant climes ? 
Crusaders are arming for freedom again, 
Their war-cry resoundeth o'er valley and plain. 
The wail of the needy doth ring on our ear; 
AVe are marshalling legions 'gainst tyranny drear ; 
From ocean to ocean the loud billows roar, 
A chasm hath opened to part us once more. 
Oh, pray that Jehovah our battles shall lead. 
To crush out oppression, grim hunger, and need — 
That our captains shall boldly contend for the right. 
And our land again ransomed by God's sovereign 
might ! 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

lllilllliiiillillllll'" 

015 871 157 6 






The wopid's fa.ip flower anri 1^ Qo5rr|os. by qanr^e — 
from 'Haradise, n-|din's pnimevl honne, I Cd,rr\i^." 



